Oblivious Misery
by M.R.H.I
Summary: Remus is miserable, believing he's better off dead. His point of view changes, however, when he's sent to the Gryffindor Kingdom and meets the heir of the Black Dynasty and learns of his passionate and violent nature. SBRL, slash, AU, adventure
1. The Naked Surprise

**Title**: Oblivious Misery**  
Category**: Romance/_**SLASH**_/**AU/**Slight Angst/Slight Humor**  
Pairing**: Sirius/Remus, James/Lily, many other minor pairings…**  
Rating**: R**  
Summary**: Remus is miserable, believing he's better off dead. However, when he's sent to another dimension where, in the eyes of the Gryffindor Kingdom's citizens, their Prince is the very meaning of passion and violence, he has to save the only Gryffindor's heir from losing himself in his family's expectation while keeping his very own head up. Here, Remus learns of love and affection through the most unexpected person, and believes that there is something in life worth living for, after all.**  
Author's Note**: I went back and made some changes to this chapter, and will be doing so with the following chapters, as well.

Chapter 1 - The Naked Surprise

_The dream started out just like it always did, with a warm, glowing blue ball floating in front of him, streaks of blue reaching out from the core, waving like gentle fingers beckoning him to follow._

_And follow he did._

_He never knew what was there around him, for his eyes, large and curious, a pair of golden suns half hidden by pale lashes of silver, were glued onto his guide as it floated before him._

_So he walked forward, transfixed, and soon there was another light, blossoming like a bright flower in the dark night, appearing before him. The blue ball forgotten, he walked forward all by himself, and then he was completely consumed by the white light._

_A great, magnificent hall of gold and red, decorated lavishly with all kinds of jewels emerged. He kept on walking, feet light upon a long, soft carpet woven out of red and gold strands._

_There were people on both of his sides, their faces hidden, dark and unsmiling. He never really noticed them, because his eyes were now resting on a figure, sitting next to the throne, shoulders hunched, his face covered by two tanned, strong hands._

_He stopped in front of the person and stared down, his face impassive. "What are you doing?" he asked._

_The person looked up, and he saw that it was a boy, probably around his age, handsome face etched with pure misery, eyes shimmering in self-hatred and regrets. "I'm thinking," he answered, but his voice held none of the pain visible on his face, just cold and cruel. "Are you my savior?"_

_He took a step closer, his hand rising and gently touching the other's cheek, cool and smooth. "I don't know, but I want to help you."_

_The boy gazed at him with a strange light in his eyes, and then he grasped his hand. "You are him. My savior."_

_He didn't know what the boy was talking about, but all the same, it made sense to him, and he leaned down._

_Like always, at that moment, when he could feel the boy with ebony hair breathing softly across his lips, Remus Lupin woke up._

-

"Lupin! Get your arse over here this instant!"

Remus winced at the high, shrilly voice shrieking from outside the dining room, and stopped in his process of cleaning the table. A boy, blue eyes and red hair, standing next to him, looked over. "That devil of a woman is horrid," he commented, nodding encouragingly towards him. "Go on, Remus, she probably just wants to compliment on your good grade on the test we had anyway."

Remus smiled weakly, knowing that Arthur was trying to ease his worry with a joke, because Madam Jeromin _never_ complimented him on anything.

"Get out here NOW!" Remus flinched again. Promptly he dropped the rag into the bucket filled with grayish water and went out of the dining room.

He walked down a small hallway, where other kids about his age or younger were cleaning the floor and walls. They talked among themselves, but did not look up or acknowledge Remus in anyway. It was alright, though. He was used to their indifference. After all, one would learn how to ignore these things when one's been living here for almost seventeen years.

Seventeen years of misery, Remus thought wryly. Not a day passed by that he didn't wish he had a normal life, a life where his parents were still with him, giving him what every child rightfully deserved: love and affection. Sometimes, Remus got so angry at himself for wishing for what he could never have, for self-pitying, and for not being good enough that his family had to leave him to some orphanage.

Remus knew his parents didn't die. No, they were alive and well and they put him in this accursed place for most of his life. Was there something wrong with him? It was a question he asked himself often as he was growing up, and with the horrible people that ran this place confirming it at every opportunity, he came to believe that there was, doubtlessly, something wrong with him.

The other kids here ignored him for the most part, except for perhaps Arthur and Frank, the two people that always looked out for him. They were so nice, and he loved them like he would love his own brothers, if he had had any. Remus was happy with that, though, because he couldn't make friends with the others living here. They always looked at him as if he was an odd creature being born to curse them or such. It was bothersome, but he had learnt not to heed it. He would soon be an adult, and in a little more than a year he would be old enough to leave for good.

Entering a small room, Remus looked around. Immediately a hand came down hard on his head, and for a moment he was overcame by dizziness.

"You dirtbag! How dare you!" Madame Jeromin cried, her thin, long face contorting in fury. She was the person who ran this place, and she looked hideous. "I told you to clean my office thoroughly!"

Remus looked down at his feet, waiting for her to finish her rambling. He did wash the place very carefully, twice, just in case, and when he left the office was so immaculate that one could have mistaken it to be cleaned by a professional cleaner or something.

"I'm sorry, Madame Jeromin," Remus said quietly, hands gripping his shirt tightly.

"Don't you talk to me in that disrespectful way, boy!" she screamed, and Remus winced. His ears could only take in enough yelling before they felt like splitting. "Look there, there!"

Remus looked, and his eyes widened.

A small, white rat was lying near the worktable, its stomach facing the ceiling, head smashed and very much dead. His heart gave a pang at the image; and anger and sadness surged in him.

Madame Jeromin looked at Remus and mistook his expression for one of horror. She smiled grimly, "Next time, be more careful, or I won't be so lenient. Go and take that bloody rat out of here. I don't ever want to see such thing again!"

Wordlessly Remus took the rat in his hands, not caring that it might have been contagious or that its blood was spilling over his fingers or that the sight was not very pretty. He left and heard the door slammed close behind him.

Remus went out into the garden, ignoring the people who gave him disgusted looks for carrying a dead rat around, and found his tree.

It was a willow tree, old and dry. Leaves no longer grew upon it, but Remus loved the thing. It was his sanctuary, underneath the shade of the willow, and he would come here whenever he could, which was close to never. Kneeling down, Remus placed the rat gently on the hard soil, and with his own, slender hands that were blistered by years of cleaning, cooking, fixing the place, he dug a small hole.

After burying the little creature, he leaned back, watching the small mount in silence. After a while he stood and went back inside.

Frank, son of Madame Jeromin, saw him coming in and rushed over. "Remus, where were you?" he asked anxiously, and saw Remus' bloodstained hands. "Oh! Look at your hands! Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine, Frank," Remus reassured him, walking to the bathroom, Frank beside him. "You sure? You seem very disturbed by something."

Remus smiled, for Frank always seemed to read him like an open book. It was odd, because no matter how mean Madame Jeromin was, Frank was double times nicer. The irony of life. "Nah, I'm alright. C'mon, dinner started a while ago, so if we want to eat, then let's hurry."

"Go wash your hands first, I'll save you some food," Frank ordered. Grateful, Remus nodded and went into the bathroom.

As Remus washed his hands, he thought back to a moment ago and wondered why he was so upset over some dead rat. It wasn't like rodent was his pet or anything, and yet, he knew exactly why he reacted the way he did.

It had reminded him of his own wretched self, something easily cast aside, thrown away without a second thought. He could see it in their eyes. They looked at him hatefully, disgustedly. They thought him as an inferior, a disease that would kill them if he were to come near them.

So he didn't, and never would come near anyone. He was grateful of Frank and Arthur for looking out for him, but he knew they wouldn't want him there if they had a choice.

Raising his head, Remus' eyes connected with his reflection, a pale, thin face with large, amber eyes that aged quicker than his body. Remus looked away.

If only he was different.

"Out of the way!"

Remus backed away hastily, muttering a sorry that didn't reach anyone's ears.

The boys before him sneered. "Aw, look at the prissy boy. What? Are you deaf? Why are you still standing there?" one of them said haughtily.

Remus made to walk away when he was pushed to the floor unceremoniously. A roar of laughter sounded behind him.

Wordlessly he stood up, and once again was shoved backward. "Look at him, how pitiful." They laughed again. "No wonder your parents abandoned you, Lupin. Even the worst of people wouldn't touch you, and that's saying something!"

All at once Remus felt a deep, black feeling bubbling inside him, breaking through the surface. It was a terrible sensation, sharp and violent. He turned to them, burning with terrible anger and hatred.

The boys jumped back, startled at how furious he looked, and screamed when the electricity crackled in the air, causing the lights to switch on and off erratically.

"What's going on here? Move, MOVE!"

The boys moved, leaving a path between them. Madame Jeromin came, her face livid. "Alright, what have you troublemakers been doing, eh? Why are the lights turning on and off?"

"It's Lupin, Madame Jeromin," a boy said earnestly, sending Remus a nasty look. "He's causing trouble, as usual."

Remus didn't bother to contradict the blatant lie, for he knew Madame Jeromin wouldn't believe him anyway. She never did.

Madame Jeromin's small eyes bored a hole through his head as they narrowed further into slits.

Ten minutes later Remus found himself scrubbing down the kitchen while the others ate their dinner.

He was completely enraged, and yet, at the same time, he couldn't help but believe that their words were true. Perhaps he was really just a nuisance. No one wanted him. Closing his eyes Remus scrubbed the stove's surface ferociously until it was making squeaky sounds of protest.

"Rather vigorous, don't you think?"

Remus spun around, startled. His heart calmed, however, when he saw who was standing before him. "Hi, Frank, why aren't you eating?" he asked, returning to his work.

"I finished eating," Frank answered, grabbing a rag and wetting it. "So I figured I could come and help you."

"Frank, you don't have to," Remus told him, smiling at his friend. "You should go and take a shower before the water becomes cold."

"Doesn't matter, and anyway, cold water clears my head," Frank said dismissively. "If you can handle it, then so can I."

"But your mother..."

"She can go and bury herself," Frank said, hints of anger showing in his words. "You weren't at fault, it was those jerks." He looked at Remus hard. "Really, Remus, when will you learn to stand up for yourself?"

Remus smiled slightly. "It doesn't matter. They would just hate me more..."

"Remus..." Frank inhaled in deeply, clearly frustrated at Remus's timidity. "One of these days, someone'll come along and you'll see how much you're worth, much more than any of them could ever be."

Remus just shook his head sadly, feeling a deep pain twisting his heart. "I doubt it," he whispered.

-

Remus shivered under the cold water, wiping his hair away from his face. Goosebumps rose all over his body, and he tried very hard to finish his shower quickly.

The events of today resurfaced in his mind, and he smiled bitterly. Frank was such a nice person. Sometimes, he almost believed his words, and yet, how could he do so when so many more people had convinced him of his abnormality? Of his... unwantedness.

Remus stopped altogether in the process of cleansing himself and dropped his head on top of his knees. He was so useless, so stupid. Their words shouldn't affect him this much. Why couldn't he ignore them? Why couldn't he get rid of this feeling of self-doubt?

He'd been so very quiet, so patient, so nice to them, hoping they would accept him, would see him in a different light. It'd never worked before, and yet he couldn't stop lying to himself. He thought that if he were nice enough, people would one day think back and welcome him into their circle, apologizing for their actions...

Remus wrapped his arms around his legs, his shoulders shaking. He was an idiot. He was probably the dumbest person to live in this world.

He wanted to feel loved... _accepted_, even for just one moment. He wanted to have someone who cared for him, not because he was weak and needed protection, but wholly for himself. He just wanted to find a place where he could fit into, where people would not look at him as if he was a freak or a beast.

He wanted to go away.

Suddenly, as if hearing his thought, the earth shook violently, and within seconds, the lights went off.

With a painful jerk around his navel Remus felt himself falling.

It seemed like a long time, the endless falling that pulled at him insistently. Remus was drowning in a pool of fear, not seeing what was happening, not feeling anything around him, just an empty air that bit into his skin coldly.

And then everything stilled, and Remus felt, as if he had never fallen, himself lying on something soft. Bright light spilled over his closed eyes, making him shut them tighter. His hands inched away from his body slowly, and they came in contact with... silk. Frightened, Remus opened his eyes.

A high, golden ceiling, carved with intricate designs of lions and phoenixes and decorated with rubies met his sight. Remus immediately closed his eyes. This was definitely_ not_ the bathroom of the orphanage.

_Where am I? What had just happened?_ Remus thought frantically, his heart thumping in his chest madly. _Just calm down, Remus Lupin. You'd probably fallen asleep in the shower. Don't panic, just stay calm... okay, now, if you open your eyes, you'll be back in the bathroom,_ Remus reassured himself unconvincingly. Slowly this time, his eyelids fluttered open.

The same sight greeted him, and Remus' heart sped up once more. He sat up straight and nearly fainted.

He was sitting on the largest bed he'd ever seen, with high bedposts of gold and sheets of silk. There was a double-door on the far left of the bed, and a large window on the other side, looking out into a soft blue sky. He looked straight ahead, past high columns with their shalfs decorated with intricate carvings of mythical creatures, and finally rested his eyes on a painting of a young man riding on a galloping black stallion hung on the white wall. He was handsome, with dark blue eyes twinkling under the bright sky and dark hair, longer than what normal teenagers would wear, blowing back along the wind.

Remus watched, bewilderment and disbelief making him speechless, for not only was the picture beautifully and powerfully painted, but also because the man in the painting was the very person he'd been dreaming of for the past seventeen years.

It was in that instant that voices could be heard drawing near, and Remus, immobilized by fear, sat rooted to the bed.

The door opened. Remus heard loud laughter until the door closed again, shutting all noises out, and standing leaning against it was the very man in the painting.

The man's eyes traveled around the room until they settled upon him, widening slightly at the sight upon the bed.

It was then that Remus realized he was very much wet and naked.

-

**To Be Continued...**


	2. Golden Eyes

Chapter 2 - Golden Eyes

The blatant stare was directed towards him, but Remus paid it no heed, because all he could think of was the fact that he was completely exposed to the air - and eyes.

Quickly, with his cheeks feeling as if they were on fire, Remus snatched the silk sheet and pulled it over himself. It was then that he allowed himself to take a real good look at the man, standing there, looking shocked and unresponsive.

Remus' cheeks, if possible, turned redder. "Um," he cleared his throat slightly and wrapped the sheet around himself more tightly, "hi." Remus felt stupid once the word left his mouth. _Really, Remus, you're naked in someone's bed with that person staring at you and all you could say is 'hi'?_

The stranger snapped out of his daze instantly. Remus almost regretted speaking out then, because the other's face lost all of his boyish bewilderment, just to be replaced by a cold, indifferent sneer. He stepped forward, his sapphire blue eyes narrowing darkly as they bore down at Remus.

Frightened, Remus backed away until he hit the wooden headboard behind him. This person looked strangely familiar, and yet, so different from the boy in his dreams. His lean, well defined form seemed to be broader, his eyes colder, and hair a darker shade of black.

"So you're the new boy, huh?" he said disdainfully, and Remus gave a start. The voice was, if possible, colder than his eyes, vibrating like a bass playing a hateful tune.

Before Remus could speak, however, he continued, "How good are you, anyway? You must be something for Regulus to waste his money on, bringing into the palace like this."

Remus' head was spinning. _Palace? Regulus? Where _is_ he_? "Um..." Remus said quietly, looking up. "I'm sorry, but I really don't know what you're talking about."

Sirius, oddly enough, gave a harsh laugh. "Playing clueless, are we?" He climbed onto the bed, knee-first, dipping the mattress. "You won't be when I'm finished with you."

Remus' eyes widened, and before he could move those long hands gripped his arms, forcing him down onto his back. The panic only settled completely when that person sat down on Remus' stomach and ripped open his own shirt.

"What are you doing!" Remus cried, his voice frantic as he lashed out at the other. "Get off me!"

The man caught his wrists, fingernails digging deep into his flesh. "Insolent, you are. Have you no manner, slave?"

Remus spluttered. _Slave_? "I'm not a slave!" Remus yelled, struggling uselessly against the other man's firm grip. "Let me go! I want to go back..." The sentence died on his lips. Go back where? To the orphanage, the place he'd been longing to leave for so many years? No, he didn't want to go back, and he most certainly did not want to stay here until he'd learnt of where _here_ was.

Remus bluntly asked then, ignoring the situation he was in, "Who are you? And where am I?"

Dark eyes became round, surprise visible in them as they gazed down at him. Remus stared defiantly back.

"You must be mad, slave, for not knowing who I am." To Remus's surprise and relief, he laughed and rolled off Remus to lie next to him.

Remus sat up, a bit flushed, but curious at the man's action. He wanted to say something, but what could he say that would sum up all of his curiosity and confusion? Nothing, he eventually decided, and as he sat there, waiting patiently, Remus figured it was best to just stay silent.

The man pulled off his ripped shirt and threw it aside carelessly, walking over to an impossibly large closet, built into the wall. He opened the mahogany door wide open, and Remus stared in disbelief.

Within the closet lined the most beautiful and exquisite kinds of clothes, all made of silk. They were not the modern clothes people wore, but strongly reminded him of the ancient Greeks' attire, except that there were breeches underneath the long tunic instead of, for lack of a better word, skirts. Remus smiled slightly, then, remembering the brief history lessons Frank usually gave him when he had the chance.

Frank... Remus thought, his eyes sad. Did Frank know where he was? Did he even notice? He felt terrible for disappearing. Frank must be worried.

The stranger slipped a blue, sleeveless shirt on, taking a golden sash and tying it around his waist. Then he paused, as if thinking, and grabbed a white shirt and gray breeches, along with another golden sash, and threw them all at Remus' face. "Put them on, slave, and get out of here."

Remus curled his fingers around the clothes, absently stroking the soft garments. "I'm not a slave," he said quietly but firmly. Then, he asked as an afterthought, "Who are you?"

"My identity does not concern you," he said icily, almost spitting out the words. Remus winced. "Hurry and leave before I change my mind."

Remus felt awkward, for the man was still standing there, unmoving and watching. "Um," he cleared his throat. "Here?"

"Where else?"

A blush crept up his neck. "Could you - could you turn away?" Even though living in the orphanage, Remus was very discreet about changing and showering in front of other people. A horrible image rose to the surface in his mind, bringing back feelings that he had tried his best to bury for the longest time. He hated it so much when the past came and haunted his mind with unwanted memories and despicable doubts.

Remus looked at him inquiringly, and he grunted, but did turn away. Relieved, Remus hastily got off the bed on the other side of the bed and put the raiment on, one hand raising to fix his hair. The clothes were slightly bigger than his frame, but Remus couldn't care less. He was just glad that he was now properly dressed. "I'm done," Remus said, and from the way the man moved, he could tell that the stranger was very annoyed.

The stranger, however, lost all of his annoyance when he took a long look at Remus.

Wide, golden eyes that reflected the sunlight watched him uncomfortably, thin fingers sweeping the long bangs away from his forehead to reveal thick, pale eyelashes that fluttered when a few strands of hair was windswept across his eyes. A slender, but leaned figure hidden underneath the snow white shirt, bringing out his fair complexion, but altogether allowing him a shy look, like an untouchable jewel hanging upon the bluest sky. To the man's eyes, Remus was breathtaking.

But to Remus' eyes, the man looked at him in shock, and an unpleasant shock, at that. He suddenly felt terribly vulnerable and embarrassed. People had told him he was no piece of art, throughout his life in that cursed place, but to be looked at like that by someone so handsome and proud, Remus felt small and shameful. Unworthy.

With a quiet sob that only he could hear, Remus fled the room, leaving the Prince of Gryffindor standing there in a daze.

-

Upon leaving the wide room behind, Remus found himself in an open hallway. On one side of the hall, paintings of royals and blood-red battles hung upon the creamy white wall, on the other side, however, columns stood tall before an expanse of blue water. Like those in the room he had just left, the columns were adorned with delicate and careful carvings, but these were of deities instead of mythical creatures, their faces stern and poses powerful.

Remus hesitantly stepped closer to one of the column and looked down at the river below. There, at least fifty feet down, were the waves slapping against the palace's strong wall.

Shivering, Remus stepped back. There was no bars or railing to stop someone from falling down. A brief lesson of history came to his mind again, this time of Egypt, where people relied on their river every year for irrigation and rich soil, and that when the star Sirius rose upon the sky, the river would overflowed and flooded the palace, a time where they would get a good, successful harvest. Remus shook his head; this was no time for remembering his history lesson.

Remus made his way down the hall, bewildered at the structure of the place. Everything was amazingly built, detailed to the point of perfection.

There was not a place in England that could match this beauty, even though Remus had never been anywhere outside of the orphanage unless it was for groceries. Therefore, comparing the orphanage to the palace, Remus thought that it was beyond beautiful.

After quite a while, Remus came to the end of that hall and pushed aside two translucent veils to reveal a stony stairway down into a wide garden.

Remus stepped down awkwardly, looking around. The garden was magnificent, divided in two sections full of unique and rare plants to leave a clear path to walk, opening wider in the middle for the dazzling fountain made of black marble to stand. A statue of a griffin was at the base in the center of the fountain, its wings protecting the rising phoenix circling a fearsome dragon, whose mouths were open to send forth spurts of water. Remus was moved at the powerful image. There was just something commanding, emotionally inexplicable about these statues that sent chills down his spine. The three creatures, all symbols of grace, beauty, power, and violence...

"Hey! You!"

Startled, Remus turned around. Two guards were running toward him, dressed in red and black armors that came to their mid-thigh. Frightened at the spears they were holding, Remus ran.

Obviously, that was the wrong move, as they began yelling and voices rose in response to their call. This time, Remus was in a state of complete panic, running blindly through the garden, and, upon seeing tall bushes near a looming forest, he dove in and hid, heart pounding loudly in his chest.

The men were shouting about, cutting the bushes as they came near. Remus shut his eyes and sent prayers to every god existed, a thing he did everyday when he was young, even though they never answered him.

This time, it was no different.

A hand came down on his shoulder, and Remus jerked around, making to run away, but the grip on his shoulder stayed firm.

This person was about his age, with untidy black hair and sharp, clear brown eyes hidden behind large glasses. He was wearing clothes that showed clearly of his noble status. He looked surprised to see him there. "Who are you?" he asked softly, his voice deep and reassuring.

Too scared to say anything, Remus could only stare at him with wide eyes.

His hand brushed Remus' shirt. "These clothes are of royalty, and yet I've never seen you here." His hand brushed against Remus' head. "Golden hair, even stranger..."

Remus found his voice, though it was weak and thick with fear. "Please, let me go... I've done no harm..."

The man looked at him, bemused, and was about to say something when voices came near.

"There he is!"

Remus jumped, and struggled against the other, but the guards reached them in an instant and grabbed Remus. One of them turned and addressed the man formally, bowing. "Pardon me, m'lord James."

"Who is he?" James asked, waving a hand at Remus, who cowered against them, feeling claustrophobic because of fear and the throng of people surrounding him.

The guard glanced at Remus and then answered, "We don't know, sir, but I expect him a thief slipping into the palace. The warden will get the truth out of him, soon enough."

At that, Remus struggled even more violently. They couldn't be thinking of locking him up, could they? No, they couldn't be, Remus screamed in his mind. He didn't do anything!

"If you excuse us, sir," the guard bowed again, motioning to the others and left, bringing Remus with them.

James stood there, his undeciphered brown eyes watching them go silently.

-

The Prince was floating in his own thoughts as he wandered the halls of the palace, thinking back to the event a moment ago.

The boy had run as soon as he finished dressing, not even looking back, if just for a moment. A bitter smile curled his lips. Was he that despicable to look at? So frightening that even his first impression with a stranger would send him running as if the devil was at his heels? Sirius gave a small laugh. He knew that the servants hated his guts, and yet because of his importance in this kingdom, feared him even more.

They feared the Blacks, who were known for their relentless conquests and bloodshed and violence. The Blacks, for generations, had ruled Gryffindor, their thirst for power and itch for killing brought them their infamous title: Messengers of Evil. Of course, those who dared to say such thing would be executed immediately, no question ask. No one got the better of the Blacks. Everyone must obey and serve them with absolute loyalty, or risk death.

Sirius grew up being taught all that his family could offer. A Black does not feel. A Black does not pity, does not show mercy. A Black must have respect, either through power or bribe, he _shall_ be respected. And of course, a Black is superior and does not need nor give help, under any circumstances, and that included family. Everyone for themselves, that was the Black's motto.

Sirius listened and remembered and acted like the prince he was, but he did not learn. He hated his family with an incomparable passion, because they made him who he was, because they did not love him.

The boy... his thought strayed back to the golden-eyed stranger, and the bitterness at his family was momentarily forgotten. He had insisted that he was not a slave, and yet if he wasn't, then what was he doing in Sirius' bed unclothed? Sirius didn't exactly care, but confusion and astonishment had shot through him when the boy dared to push him away. Just for that Sirius could have him decapitated. That was not the only offense he did, though. He had spoken to him without being questioned, and looked him in the eyes. No one looked him in the eyes beside his family and best friend, and yet, for an inferior to do that, he must be mad.

However odd the boy's actions were, they still didn't explain the feelings that had stirred inside Sirius. He had felt strangely light-headed at the glimmer in those golden eyes, large and afraid, desperately concealed by hints of defiance. How... different. Though at first he did not think the boy lovely, since he was overwhelmed by surprise and the other was underneath the sheets. _But you did have an eye-full of his body first, did you not?_ a sly voice echoed in his mind, and annoyed, he pushed it away.

_His eyes were like gold..._

Gold... the most cherished treasure in Gryffindor. The people in Gryffindor were all dark hair and blue eyes, in most occasions. No one he had ever seen had had golden hair, especially not golden eyes. The boy was a foreigner, surely. Sirius wondered if he'd ever see him again, and realized that he'd never even asked his name.

"Sirius!"

Sirius turned around, and the figure of his best friend approached. A small smile creeped across his strong jaw, and then disappeared. "I could have you killed for addressing me so improperly."

James grinned at him, his red cloak billowing in the wind. "My humblest apologies, good Prince. Will you truly execute this sweet boy, who, if I may be so bold to add, your best friend since the moment we were born?" he said sincerely, and Sirius allowed himself a snicker.

"Shut yourself up, James Potter, or I will," Sirius said, mock sternly. "Now, walk with me."

James fell into steps with Sirius as they walked together in silence. After a while, Sirius stopped and came toward the left edge of the hall, looking out into the river. James, curious, followed him.

It was cold, being that winter was coming to an end but not quite yet, but Sirius seemed unaffected.

"You look troubled," James commented.

"Don't I always?" Sirius replied. When James did not answer, he sighed. "It doesn't matter. Nothing important, anyway."

James didn't push the matter, though he made a mental note to address it later. For a while they were quiet, then James said, "I saw the strangest sight today."

Sirius almost smiled. _You're not the only one_. "Really? It must be something for Lord James to sound so awed."

"Hush, now," James said, smiling. "I saw this boy, he..." James hesitated, wondering why he was telling Sirius this, but continued anyway, "he was captured by the guards, believing to be a thief breaking into the palace, but he didn't seem so."

"Really?" Sirius said, uninterested. "What does he look like?"

"That is the oddest part, for he does not have our dark complexion, but pale, with golden eyes and hair. He looked terrified, but I did... Sirius?" James inquired, seeing his friend's face, urgent and almost angry.

"Where did they take him?" Sirius commanded, a tone he'd never used at him.

"To the dungeon, I believe, but why... Sirius!" James yelled, but Sirius was already sprinting down the hall where they had just walked past a moment ago. Muttering under his breath, James ran after him.

-

Remus, for his part, was taken deep underground and tied to a wooden cross, stained with dry blood. Prison cells could be seen around the stone walls, dark with only the flames from the torches casting ominous shadows, revealing sets of skeletons lying inside, wrists and ankles still bound with chains. Remus, feeling sick, turned away, just to be greeted by the sight of many torture devices, including razor-edged swords, a bed of nails, and a large torch with fire burning threateningly; metal sticks poked out from the flame, shimmering with an orange glow. Images of tortures they used in the old days ran through his mind, and Remus was completely gripped by panic.

_Remus, get a grip! Don't give yourself a fright and just calm down. They would listen to reason, surely, and would let you go_, Remus tried to convince himself, but failed miserably. There was no way they would listen to him.

Footsteps echoed in the darkness, and Remus waited in fearful suspense.

A man came. He was short and bald, with a patch of gray hair in the middle of his head. His eyes were small and watery. He had a large, crooked nose and a lipless mouth that curled into a most unpleasant smile. In his hand he held a leather whip.

Remus swallowed painfully. He had been here for barely three hours and he was going to be tortured. If Remus had believed himself to be unlucky before, he was positive now that he was cursed with bad luck.

"So, you're the thief they caught, eh?" he said, his voice high and croaked as he came closer.

Remus shook his head. "I'm not a thief, I..." but the sentence was cut off to replace with a scream as the whip slashed across his side, cutting the garment. Remus blinked back tears as he felt the side of his body stung painfully, seeping with blood.

"Silence!" the man snapped. "I did not ask you to talk." The perverse smile was on his face again as he walked slowly around Remus.

When he came back to face Remus, he peered at him closely. "A foreigner," he mused. "Now, what would a foreigner be doing inside the palace? Is he merely stealing, or trying to seek information of our kingdom and bringing it to his ruler?"

"I didn't..." Remus whispered, and for the second time in his life, felt the whip across his chest.

"Who are you?" the man asked. "Speak truthfully and I will end your misery."

"I'm not a spy," Remus croaked out, but the man spat and sent the whip flying, this time continuously.

"A liar, that you are!" He yelled. "Answer me, boy! Who sent you?"

All Remus could do was scream as the whip bit into his skin. It hurt more than all those beatings he had had at the orphanage. Through the pain, Remus thought with twisted amusement that Madam Jeromin could learn something from this man about beating children.

Then, when he thought he couldn't take it anymore, distant sounds filled his ears and the whipping stopped.

The ropes that bound his wrists loosened, and Remus felt himself slipping onto the floor, but strong arms helped him down gently, so that he wouldn't be any more injured than he already was.

Shouting was heard, and painfully, he opened his eyes. A blurry sight of a man in blue appeared, with the warden kneeling in front of him, his hands clasped together pathetically. "Please, master, spare me!"

The plead went unheard as the razor-edged sword Remus saw earlier swung across the man's neck. Remus screamed as blood shot out into the air and a head rolled to his feet, eyes wide and blank.

Falling backwards, Remus passed out.

-

**To Be Continued...**


	3. Bound

Chapter 3 - Bound

_This chapter is dedicated to Rynne Lupin, the sweetest person on earth who helped me by betaing this._

The Family Hall was the largest room there was in the palace. There were big, fluffy cushions placed all over the floors near the walls for the guests to sit on, leaving an empty space in the middle, where the entertainers performed every night. The ceiling rose like a dome around them, beautiful in its reflection of the night sky. In the daytime, however, the Family Hall was a stunning sight to behold, as the sunlight seeped through the glass and threw everything into brilliant gold.

But at night, every night, the royals blended into the seductive shadows of the room and watched the entertainment.

Sirius was sitting in a far away corner by himself, glaring threateningly at any dancers that dared to approach him. He was not in a good mood tonight, and it was obvious to watching eyes.

It came as a surprise, then, when his cousin, Bellatrix, swayed over to him, her dress slipping down her shoulders sloppily. Sirius looked on in disgust as she leaned down and breathed into his ear, smelling heavily of alcohol and perfume, "Why are you sitting here all alone tonight, cousin?" She smiled, red lips glinting harshly under the glowing light.

Her hand fell on his shoulder, and Sirius twitched. "Why don't you join me tonight? You don't seem very interested in the foreign dancers Regulus brought back from his trip." Her voice was raspy, seductive, and full of promises, which only succeeded in bringing Sirius more annoyance. Her body fell forward, revealing the curves of her breasts under the soft light. If it had been any other time, if he were drunk, or plain bored, Sirius would have accepted the invitation readily.

Tonight, however, there was only one thought in his mind.

Impatiently Sirius pushed her aside, abruptly and none too gently. He turned to Bellatrix, who looked at him in offense, and said, "You should know when you are not welcomed, _cousin_. Leave now before I lose my temper." And without another glance, Sirius returned to his drink, dark eyes gazing into the distance, not really seeing the dancers swaying, the veils upon their bodies flying away gently, revealing ivory, soft flesh to the eyes. Sirius watched as his brother, Regulus, laughed and grabbed a young woman, disappearing into the night.

Sirius had had about enough. He stood, glancing at the king, who was smiling and eating fruits being fed him by young and willing women. Sirius' face scrunched up in utter disgust, and, unable to stand another minute in this room, he stood up and left.

-

The breeze was chilly, tousling his hair and blowing them away from his sharp, handsome face when he turned to the direction of the wind. As Sirius stood there, looking up into the moonlit sky, he thought back of the boy he found in the dungeon, bleeding and broken, like a fragile doll torn apart by brutal thoughtlessness. It was a miracle he was still breathing when James and Sirius found him.

When Sirius caught sight of the young slave, he had felt a surge of uncontrollable anger rising inside him, a feeling unknown to anything he had ever experienced before. It had consumed him and blotted out all his reasons and thoughts, so that before Sirius knew it, the warden lay dead at his feet, head rolling across the floor in a trail of blood.

Sirius closed his eyes, letting the wind whip across his strong cheekbones. It was no loss to the palace, killing the warden. There were plenty more, better and wiser than him, to serve the Blacks for years to come. The hollow thought etched itself in his mind like an ugly brand, a reminder of just exactly who he was: a monster.

"I thought I'd find you here," a soft, amused voice spoke up, bringing Sirius out of his reverie.

Sirius was about to scream at the intruder when he realized who it was. Eyes softening slightly, Sirius acknowledged, "Dumbledore."

An old man, wearing a dark purple robe with matching colored hat, smiled kindly at him, his long, white beard standing starkly against the black background. Dumbledore was the palace's wizard, the only person who was able to work magic and keep Gryffindor informed of threats. He was gentle and kind, and he was the only person Sirius truly, honestly respected, not out of formality but genuine feeling.

Dumbledore approached him, his wizard's staff making crisp sounds as it clapped against the marble floor. He stopped next to Sirius, watching the river washing back and forth against the palace's wall. "Something is troubling you, my dear child," Dumbledore stated, his voice held none of curiosity nor demand, just a simple fact.

"I am fine," Sirius lied, even though he knew Dumbledore could see right through him, and indeed, he did.

Chuckling softly, Dumbledore replied, "Sometimes it is better to let it out instead of keeping your thoughts inside."

Sirius was silent, his eyes straying to the pale moon, which was a sickly color of white that glowed dimly in the endless darkness. Finally he answered, "Do you not know of my trouble, Dumbledore?"

Dumbledore smiled, his blue eyes twinkling. "I have a thought or two, yes," he said.

"Then why do you ask?" Sirius said, frustration creeping into his voice.

"A man must admit his own fears and worries before he can overcome them," Dumbledore said, his wise words piercing right through Sirius' mind.

"I have no fear!" Sirius snarled. "I am the Prince and Heir of Gryffindor. I know not the meaning of the very word."

Dumbledore shook his head, almost sadly. "Perhaps so, but it is your own title that brings you much trouble. It is your own blood that makes you doubt your worth, and your family that is shaping you into believing you are who you are not, caging you here, when your heart calls for freedom." Dumbledore turned to Sirius, his sharp eyes peering into the prince's very soul. "Tell me, my child, is that not what you think of everyday? Is that not what you are trying to live up to, knowing that it is not who you are?"

Sirius' eyes flashed, and with a quick motion whipped out his sword, a weapon he carried around almost all the time. "You lie, old man!" Sirius hissed, the tip of his sword inches away from the wizard's neck. "I am Sirius Black, the God's Chosen and Heir to the Black's line. I shall one day rule this kingdom like my father, and his father had, and all the Blacks before them!"

Dumbledore did not smile his knowing smile, nor did he show any sign of emotion. Instead, he merely said, "You are destined to be king, but one of honor and greatness, not of fear and violence." Before Sirius could reply, Dumbledore spun around and left, his feet light upon the floor, his staff no longer in his hand, but had mysteriously disappeared.

James came into view then just as Dumbledore turned the corner. Frowning, James walked toward his friend, who was breathing harshly, his face flushed in disbelief. "The wizard spoke with you," he said with interest. "What did you two talk of?"

Sirius did not answer him, but returned the sword back to its sheath and took a deep breath to calm his racing heart. "It is none of your concern, James," Sirius said dismissively, and then added when a thought occurred to him. "How does the boy fare?"

James smiled then. "He is healing quite nicely. The healer of my household has affirmed that he will be waking soon..."

"And what of his wounds? Will they leave scars?" Sirius was struck with anger when he thought of the milky skin being marred by hideous marks.

James' eyes gleamed knowingly. "Not a scar will be visible, although..." James frowned, remembering the sight that he had seen while the healer was attending to the stranger.

"What is it?" Sirius asked impatiently.

"His flesh was already marked with old wounds, already faded into scars, though they are not easily seen, because the scars are quite small and pale," James was saddened as he recalled the state the boy's body was in. "I wonder who could have done it to him. He did not seem like a slave to me, but perhaps I am wrong."

Sirius' hands shook as they curled into fists, and, surprised at his own reaction, he forced himself to calm down and looked back at James. "When will he awaken?"

"Considering his current state, I'd say by tomorrow afternoon."

Sirius almost smiled then. Almost. "I shall be visiting your home tomorrow afternoon. For now, good night," he said, his face masked with a formal look.

James grinned and bowed to him. "A thousand good nights to you, my prince. I look forward to welcome you to my humble abode tomorrow," he said, mockingly.

Sirius cracked a smile, and left.

James watched him until he was out of sight, and then looked down at the river. "By the Hogwarts River, Mother of our land, please let him be saved from his own family," he whispered, and went back to his own place with a heavy heart.

The wind picked up, and the river growled violently, slapping against the stone wall. The clouds shifted, hiding the moon, and then, the rain started to pour.

-

_Remus gazed at the blue, floating ball, transfixed. As always, it led him to the hall made of gold and rubies, glimmering in dangerous beauty._

_The boy was still there, his face in his hands, and when Remus came closer, the boy looked up. It was the prince._

_"What are you doing?" the same words escaped his lips as his hand rose to touch the other's cheek._

_"I'm thinking," he replied, grasping Remus' hand in his cold one. "Who are you?"_

_Remus heard the unfamiliar question, because the dream boy had never asked who he was. It came as a surprise when Remus found himself answering, "I'm here to help you."_

_"You are my savior, then," he said, his voice full of innocent wonderment. "The one in the legend, who comes to chase away the Prince's troubles and fears and makes him see where he truly stands." He tilted his face up, blue eyes clearer than ever. "Are you him?"_

_Remus couldn't think, his eyes only for the one sitting in front of him. "Yes," he murmured, eyes closing shut. "Yes, I am."_

_And then this time in his dream, even more different than any other before, Remus felt soft lips falling upon his._

Remus woke up to fingers playing with his hair tenderly, winding through the strands and letting them falling away before starting all over again. With a pleasant sigh, he opened his eyes.

The vision of the boy in his dream shaped itself in front of his blurry eyes, and for a moment he thought he was still dreaming. But then the haziness vanished, leaving the path of confusion to unravel before his vision at seeing the beautiful place and an even more beautiful stranger...

The one from his dreams.

Remus almost yelled in shock, but sharp pain tore through him. With a jolt he realized that his throat was dry and his body hurt horribly. Memories rushed back to his mind, and all at once he remembered that this was not the orphanage. Weakly he tried to push himself up.

"Lay down, fool," a soft voice commanded. "You'll hurt yourself if you move around too much."

Remus squinted his eyes, and then closed them, tears prickling behind his eyes at the dull pain. "Where..." he rasped, and could speak no more.

"You're at the household of Lord Potter," a voice, different and gentler, spoke up. However, Remus couldn't bring himself to look and see who it was.

A moment later cool liquid was poured down between his dry lips, and gratefully Remus swallowed, coughing slightly. After a while his eyes fluttered open, and in front of him stood the two men he'd seen yesterday, glorious in their royal clothes.

"How are you feeling?" the man who had just spoken asked, smiling.

"Fine," Remus croaked, trying to sit up. The same person came and helped him up. "Who are you?"

"My name is James Potter," he chuckled, his blue eyes twinkling. "And this is our prince, Sirius Black. Forgive us for not introducing ourselves properly."

Sirius sneered and turned away, cheeks rising to a light pink color. Remus' gaze lingered on him for a moment, full of wonder and curiosity, and then he looked back at James. "You're..." he said, remembering James as the person that held him back yesterday.

A blast of fear held him still, and Remus wondered what they would do to him, what they already _had_ done while he was unconscious. Instinctively Remus gripped the sheets covering his body tighter.

"It's quite alright," James assured him, seeing the obvious distrust and fright in those impossibly golden eyes. "We will not hurt you, just... don't scream murder or try to assassinate us, hm?"

Remus stared at James and smiled slightly, nodding.

James sat down on the bed next to Remus and clapped his hands. Almost instantly a girl came in, carrying a tray of food. She set it down on the bedside table next to the bed, bowed to Sirius and James, then left. Remus watched her go and wondered who she was.

"Hungry?" James asked, waving at the food. It was at that moment that Remus realized he was starving, but he only looked at the food with uncertainty and did not touch it.

Sirius' eyes were on Remus, unreadable and dark. "There's nothing to fear. Even if there were poison in the dishes, it wouldn't matter. I could kill you with a wave of my hand," he said coldly, startling Remus.

James gave the prince a frown. "Our prince is a little... impatient when it comes to dealing with people. Please excuse him," James said to his guest, ignoring the bristle coming from Sirius.

"It's okay," Remus said softly, feeling out of place. _Prince?_ Where was he? Daring a glance at James, he inquired, "Where am I? How did I get here?"

James cast Sirius a glance, which the prince replied to with a shrug. Gently James answered him, "You are in the palace of the Gryffindor Kingdom." Pausing slightly, James continued, "And where are you from?"

Remus hesitated. What should he tell them? That he was not from this world? Would they think he was insane if he told them the truth? "I- I'm not sure..." Remus replied, fidgeting with the seams of the sheet.

James was doubtful by Remus' words, but did not push. "What is your name?" It surprised James that he did not remember to ask this boy his name earlier before.

"It's Remus..." he said, deciding to keep his last name away from them. What was the point in telling them, anyway? He had no family, and therefore his last name did not matter. He had never exactly acknowledged it. He didn't want to, for it reminded him too much of his abandonment and a life that could have been.

_Remus..._ The name echoed in Sirius' head sweetly. A small tingling feeling crept up his arms and sent a quiet shiver up his body.

"Well, Remus, go ahead and eat, then, I'll see you later," James said finally, standing up. Somehow he had a feeling that Sirius wanted to have some time alone with this foreign boy.

"Wait..." Remus called out, pausing James in his steps. "How long have I been unconscious?"

"About a day or so," James told him, and with another smile, he left.

The door closed with a soundly click, indicating that Remus was alone here... with the unpredictable prince. Remus felt awkward, remembering the events yesterday; of his unclothed state, of the killing...

Speaking of being unclothed, Remus thought, turning red, he was currently quite naked. _Why must I always end up like this?_ Remus mourned miserably. What if Sirius - was that his name? - decided to jump on him like yesterday?

_But he did not do anything to you_, he silently reminded himself. Feeling self-conscious, Remus pulled the sheets up his body even more, and looked at anywhere but the other.

"Who are you?"

Remus gave a start, head jerking towards the voice. Sirius was staring at him with dark, dark eyes. The stare was blank, and yet, within its depths it held a fierce, stubborn fire of pride that was undeniable. Remus shuddered. "I told you, my name is Re-"

He was cut off, however, when Sirius appeared before him in a blink. "Do not lie to me," he said roughly. "Are you a spy from one of our enemies?"

Remus' eyes went wide. "No, I'm not," a flash of agonizing pain came to his mind, reminding him of the events that had occurred in the dungeon. _No, he wouldn't_...

"Please," he whispered fearfully, "don't hurt me. I'm telling you the truth, I'm not a spy, I don't know how I got here, I just..."

Remus was startled into silence when a cool hand rose to brush across his cheek gently. Instinctively he flinched away, but the touch was so soothing, so tender... _No one had ever touched me like this before_. A thumb swept across his cheekbone, then fingers slipped into the soft hair, tilting his head up. Remus gazed into those eyes, an unknown feeling working itself inside him. There was no anger or violence or haughtiness in those amazingly blue eyes, just a silent pain that was and still being deprived of knowledge for a long time. It hurt Remus, looking at them like that.

"I won't hurt you," Sirius said simply, and for some reason, Remus believed him.

Sirius, on the other hand, felt light-headed, looking at Remus. There was just something so clear, so lovable, so... _sad_ about him that it made Sirius want to gather him up into his arms and chase away the pain. It scared Sirius, thinking like that. Not once in his life did he ever think of another person with such tenderness, and definitely not to a stranger did he ever feel the slightest care toward.

Sirius' eyes fell to those timid, flushed lips, inviting and oh so kissable. An unsuppressed, _arousing_ passion rose in him, and he leaned down, watching, always watching, as the golden depths disappeared behind pale eyelids.

Their lips were only millimeters apart now, if he would just let himself...

Abruptly Sirius' hand retreated, and Remus' eyes snapped open, bewildered.

Sirius staggered backwards, and, feeling his control slipping away, he turned and exited the room, leaving Remus staring after him in confusion.

-

**To Be Continued...**


	4. Hidden Enemies

**Author's Note**: Many thanks and hugs to Rynne, who really helped fixing up this chapter, even though I must have confused her so much.

Chapter 4 - Hidden Enemies

Lucius was in love with Narcissa Black. He has been in love with Narcissa ever since he first met her eight years ago, when he was just thirteen years old.

It had been a short, diplomatic visit to the Gryffindor Kingdom with his father, but Lucius could never forget it.

Slytherin, back then, was always in disagreement with the other two kingdoms, Hufflepuff in the West and Ravenclaw in the East, and they were constantly bickering with one another. Slytherins were known for their deceits and bribery, and because of that, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff hated them. It didn't help the matter at all when the Eastern kingdoms found out that there were Slytherin spies within their territories. The truth came pouring out then.

For about five years, Slytherins had received much politically important information that was vital to the survival of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. It was unacceptable for Slytherin to break a sacred truce, formed long ago, and invade their privacy. For that very reason, the two kingdoms joined forces to fight Slytherin off for good.

Outnumbered, the Slytherin king looked to Gryffindor for help, and that was how fate led Lucius to his soul mate.

Narcissa was beautiful, even at the age of twelve, with hair as dark as ebony and eyes as gray as the smoke of war. Her smile was of a wicked and sensuous, her red lips curving coyly. She carried the air of a royal maiden, full of pride and superiority. She spoke like a queen, and when she looked at him, he knew there was no other woman in this world that could make him feel the way she did.

He had intended to make her his wife once she came of age, and he still wanted her, but she did not want him.

Green fire blazed in his eyes as he remembered how she had rejected him, remembered the way she had looked at Sirius Black, with desire, and longing, and... love.

It drove Lucius mad, thinking about it. What was there about Sirius that he, Lucius Malfoy, did not have? Was it Sirius' recklessness? His indifference? His cold exterior, his dark eyes that showed an even darker heart? How could she even think that a man like that could ever love her the way Lucius would? Lucius was passionate about her; he worshipped her like a goddess, he dreamed about her every night and thought of her every day, he went against his father's words and refused to get married, waiting for her, and yet, she still did not want him.

It was different now. Lucius was no longer a boy. He was now King of Slytherin, and he would have her.

But first, Sirius Black must be eliminated from this world, and he planned to do just that.

-

James was watching Sirius.

James had been sitting there, in Sirius' room for a long time, watching Sirius munching on his food while staring off into space. James found this very amusing, since Sirius was rarely seen so out of it. It was time like this that James remembered Sirius was still just a teenage boy, young and wild and still had a lot to learn. He chuckled slightly and shook his head.

The sound brought Sirius back to the present, and he frowned suspiciously at James. "What's so funny?" he demanded.

"Nothing, my prince," James snickered. He took a look at Sirius's confused face and started laughing in earnest. Sirius looked like his dignity was hurt.

James shook his head, taking a deep breath to compose himself. "Forgive me, I was hit with an unstoppable impulse to laugh," he said, his voice mocking, just like it did every time he spoke to Sirius as if he was a prince and not his best friend. Speaking like that proved quite dangerous when there were people around them, but James didn't care. He didn't care much except when it came to Sirius and his well-being. Like all the lords and ladies raised in the palace, he was taught superiority and indifference at a young age. James sometimes realized that he spoke like a spoiled, rotten person and he felt bad for doing so. He felt disgusted at himself when he saw the servants looking at him with fearful eyes. Servants were humans, and there was no need for them to feel threatened by the people they served. Not many shared the same thoughts as he, though.

"James."

James looked up, and saw Sirius' blank expression. It shouldn't have unsettled him, since Sirius looked like that most of the time, but there was something strange present in his eyes. "Is something wrong?" James asked.

Sirius opened his mouth to speak, but hesitated. James raised an eyebrow. Sirius looked as if he didn't know how to express what he wanted to say into words. Another very rare thing that didn't usually happen. "You know you can tell me anything," James said encouragingly.

Sirius ran a hand through his black hair, frustrated. He paused in his movement, as if thinking, and then breathed in deeply. "Have you ever felt... close to someone you've just met?" Sirius said, the words sounding lame to his ears.

"Not that I can think of," James answered, eyeing Sirius. "Why?"

"Nothing," Sirius said automatically.

"Sirius," James said, standing up from his seat and went over to sit down next to Sirius on the floor. "You can't lie to me even if you wanted to, and you don't, so why even try?"

Sirius didn't look at him, instead, he settling his eyes on the painting of himself, riding the stallion like a fearsome fighter. "I'm not trying to lie to you," he said softly.

"Sirius," James let out an irritated sigh. "I hate it when you refuse to tell me things that trouble you. Do you think that I cannot help to ease your pain?"

Sirius turned his angry eyes to James. "You know not of what I'm thinking, so don't assume..."

"Then tell me what you're thinking!" James cut him off, glaring right back. "I thought I was your best friend. Why do you insist on hiding your thoughts from me?" Sirius looked surprised at James' outburst. It was not often that James got mad.

"I'm not trying to hide things from you," Sirius told him. "You know who I am, what I am raised up to be like, do you not?"

James' eyes softened, and he regretted his words. It really wasn't Sirius' fault. If it weren't because of his accursed family, Sirius would never have become the person he was now - a miserable boy with too many black stains blotting his innocent heart.

And the bitterest thing was that Sirius didn't even know how wretched and unhappy he was.

James put his hand on Sirius' shoulder and gripped it tightly. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said such a thing."

"Forget it," Sirius said. "It doesn't matter, anyway."

And yet, James knew it really did.

-

"Really, I can do this by myself," Remus said for the fifth time, smiling politely at the woman who was holding his clothes.

The woman shook her head. "Lord James said to treat you with the utmost respect and make you feel as comfortable as I can," she said matter-of-factly.

"But you don't have to do this," Remus assured her, holding out his hands for the garments. "It'd make me more comfortable dressing myself, honest."

She didn't look convinced at his words. "I can't. If Lord James finds out, I'll be in trouble. Now, why don't you stand up so I can dress you and be on my way?"

"No, I can..." But Remus' words were cut off because the woman pulled the blanket away from his naked form and dragged him out of bed. Remus turned red. "Really, I..."

"Hush now," she said gently, hiding a smile as she put the silk tunic on him. "You are very shy," she commented.

Remus tried hard not to blush, but his effort proved to be in vain when he felt his cheeks burned as if they were on fire. "No one had seen me... unclothed in a long time..." he said, and bit his lower lip, remembering exactly _who_ had seen him naked just two days ago.

The woman chuckled. "You'd best get used to it now, as you're the prince's special guest and would be treated with much luxury as long as you're in the palace."

Remus felt his heart jumped a beat at that. _The prince's special guest_? he thought. _What's that supposed to mean?_ "Um..." he turned around, so she could tie the sash around his waist. "Do you know what the prince is planning to do with me?"

She smiled brightly. "It's not my place to speak about such things, but from what I've seen, the prince has taken a liking to you." She smiled softly at him then, gesturing for Remus to sit down. She began to brush his hair gently. "I've never seen the prince being so nice to anyone, especially toward someone he doesn't know too well."

"I..." Remus was wordless. From what he'd seen, the prince seemed very unfriendly. He always had this fierce look in his eyes, like a fire that was ready to burn anything in its path into soot.

But there was one time that Sirius looked at him differently, and Remus could never forget it. Sirius' eyes were soft, like melted ice, cold, yes, but not derived of the warmth nestling in his heart. Remus couldn't remember seeing sadder eyes, beautiful, sad, and passionate with a kind of wildness in them. Sirius' gaze burned in his mind, and Remus felt a tingle whenever he thought of it.

Absorbed in his thoughts as he was, Remus missed the question the woman asked. "Pardon me?"

Her smile was kind when he turned around to look at her. "What do you think of the prince?" she repeated.

"I..." Remus began, but he didn't know what to say to her. What did he think of Sirius, really? He was violent, most certainly, hostile, definitely, and inexplicably sad. "I saw him behead someone," Remus said quietly.

"The prince is not a bad person at heart," she told him, fixing the collar of his shirt. "He was raised that way, and kindness is still a foreign word to him, so don't judge him just yet."

"You seem to know a lot about him," Remus said, looking up at her.

She smiled, tucking a strand of red hair behind her ear. "Of course," she said fondly. "He was the one who saved my life." Remus' head perked up in interest.

"I was fifteen, and the prince was just ten years old," she began, her eyes becoming misty with her own memories. "My family sold me to the palace for money, and back then, I was the servant of the Longbottoms. They were very kind to me, especially the cousin of Lord Frank Longbottom, Jonathan. He was always looking out for me, even teaching me how to read. I always came to him for help, but he proved to be just like every other lord in the palace, salacious and greedy.

"I remember that year's harvest was very successful, and we had a celebration that night. I was helping with the food, but then Jonathan came. He looked a bit drunk, and asked me to escort him back to his room." She let out a wan smile. "Everything happened in a blur. All I knew was that he was on me in an instant, and then in another moment, I had killed him."

Remus gasped, but she did not hear him and carried on with her story. "He screamed, and I saw blood everywhere - on my hands, my face, and yet he kept on bleeding. I was so afraid. I didn't know what to do, and so I covered him with the bed sheets and fled the room. A guard saw me, and raised the alarm. I was captured that night.

"It would have been the end for me, but the prince came, and listened to my story. He was young, and yet very disciplined, and his punishment for me was to bury the body. After that, he forbade anyone to touch me. It was because of him that I did not lose my job, and became a servant here at the Potter household," she turned to Remus and smiled then. "I'm sorry. It must be quite dreary for you to listen to such a tedious story."

Remus shook his head quickly. "No, it wasn't," he answered. "I understand." And he really did.

"The prince is not bad, you see. He's very cute, too, at times," she said, her voice carrying an adoring note to it. "I'm sure you'll find that out in time." She winked at Remus, much to his confusion. "I must go now, it's getting late. I'll come back later with your dinner, Remus."

She hastened to the door, but Remus' quiet voice stopped her. "I still don't know your name."

"It's Molly," she said.

Remus allowed himself a smile. "Thank you... Molly."

"You're welcome," she replied, her kind eyes twinkling. Quietly she exited the room, leaving Remus alone in his thoughts.

-

Sirius was on his way to the king's chamber. It was after dark, and Sirius was not in the best mood, like he never was when it concerned his father. The king had requested his presence, and his order could not go unheeded, so here he was, walking down the corridor with a short, plump man guiding him.

Sirius wondered what there was to talk about with his father, whom he had not spoken to in a long time - not that he wanted to talk to him. The king irritated him. He constantly spoke of women and conquests and power. Sirius was bored at the very ideas. Now, as he watched the flaming torch casting eerie shadows across the hall, Sirius fiddled with the golden bands on his wrists and thought of Remus.

A strange passion rose in him, whispering of dark desire and lust. It was not unfamiliar for Sirius to feel like this, for he had had his share of both women and men ever since he knew what it felt like to be physically pleasured. What was foreign, however, was the fact that Sirius didn't just want to take Remus, but to get to know him as well. It bothered Sirius very much. This was truly unknown territory. It was discombobulating, confusing, awkward, and Sirius hated those things.

The servant in front of him paused in front of a grand double door that was intricately designed with roses and phoenixes. Opening the door, the man stepped inside and announced, "Prince Sirius."

Sirius didn't even wait for the servant to tell him to go in; he just went inside.

The chamber was large and dimly lit, with a few scattered candles burning low around it. In the middle of the spacious room was the king's bed, a deep red color embroidered with golden lines that wound through each other like spider's webs. Two servants stood on each side of the bed, kneeling down as he came into view. Sirius saw that the curtains were drawn down, hiding the person lying inside. "Father," he said stiffly.

There was a moment of silent, in which absolutely nothing happened. And then, a rough, cracked voice spoke up, "Sirius."

The servants stood and parted the blood red curtains, revealing a man half lying underneath matching blankets. There was a woman lying next to him.

"You called for me," Sirius said, his eyes narrowing at the sight on the bed.

The king turned his gray, tired eyes to him. "There is something I must tell you. It is of utmost importance." To the woman, he said, "Go, you are no longer needed."

She stepped down the bed, her exposed flesh glistening in the glowing light. Sirius watched as she curtsied and left through another door, no doubt leading to the servant's hall.

The king waved his wrinkled hand, and immediately a chair was brought beside his bed. "Sit down, and we'll converse."

Sirius didn't move for a short moment, then stepped forward and situated himself on the cushioned chair. The servants bowed and exited the room.

Sirius stared ahead, not looking at his father as he spoke, "You are aware that my time is drawing nearer." Sirius didn't say anything. "It is your duty then, as the oldest son, to take over the throne."

He tensed at the words the king spoke, and yet remained silent. "I am certain you know of your importance to the kingdom, and will surely do the Blacks great honor once you're king."

Silent Sirius stayed, until his father felt his patience withering. "Sirius, speak! Are you listening to me? I am a king, as well as your father, whom you are disrespecting greatly by remaining silent."

"What do you want me to say, Father?" Sirius turned to him, his eyes cold. "I know who I am, and I've accepted my fate. If I am to rule the Gryffindor Kingdom, then so be it. There is nothing left to say, so I bid you good-night, Father." With that being said, Sirius stood and made to leave, but the king sat up and grabbed his shirt.

"Sirius," he said, "your birthday is in two weeks. Once you turn eighteen, you will take my place on the throne." Sirius stiffened, feeling his father's eyes on him. "You know what to do, then."

For a long time the only sound that could be heard was the howling wind, then Sirius answered tightly, "I do." A fleeting, painful feeling touched his heart, but Sirius ignored it and left.

The king looked as Sirius walked out of the door, then he let himself fall onto his back and closed his eyes. "He is too soft at heart still, after all that I have done," he said to himself.

Alone at last, the king prayed.

-

Despite Molly's words, Remus couldn't help but leave his room and explore the place. Unfortunately, because he didn't know the outline of the palace, he left the Potter's household as well.

The palace was a place that included all of the highest officials' homes, and since James' father was the chief advisor of the king, it made sense for his dwelling to be in it. So as Remus walked the garden of the palace and enjoyed the beauty of nature without a thought of whom the large garden belonged to, he realized that he had no idea what time it was or how long he'd been away. Remus didn't exactly care at the moment, for he was too busy gazing in awe at the stunning flowers he'd never seen before.

Absorbed in examining the blue plants on the flowerbed, Remus didn't notice a group of young girls walking his way. Well, not until one of them squealed loudly and pointed at him, "Hey! What are you doing?"

Remus jumped, his fingers, which were gently caressing the plant, retreating hastily. Clumsily Remus stood up, just as the girls reached him.

"What are you doing here?" one of them demanded, her poise and voice both arrogant and obnoxious.

"I was looking at the flowers..." Remus said slowly, wondering if he'd gotten himself into trouble.

"Do you not know whose garden you are standing in? Whose flowers you were looking and touching?" she glared at him, bending down to check on the flowers.

While she was doing so, another spoke up, "If anything happens to the flowers, I'll make sure you..."

"Enough, Jasmine," a stern voice broke through the air. "You are frightening the poor boy."

Remus looked at the speaker, and gazed on in wonder. She was breathtakingly beautiful, dressed in white and gold. Her long, ebony hair fell down her shoulders like a dark veil covering porcelain arms, swaying in the breeze as she moved closer, her red lips smiling. Remus had never seen a more beautiful woman.

"What are you staring at?" the girl called Jasmine said haughtily, hands on her hips. "Lady Narcissa is not for your unworthy eyes to look upon."

Remus immediately dropped his eyes. "I-I'm sorry."

"Too right," the other girl stood up. "Be grateful that the flowers are alright, otherwise..."

"Now now Valerie, be nice," Narcissa said sweetly. To Remus she asked, "Who are you, and what are you doing here in my garden?"

"My name is Remus," he said shyly, feeling small under her scrutiny. "I was just walking around when I passed into your garden. The flowers are just so lovely I couldn't help but stop and look."

A strange look crossed Narcissa's face, and then it was gone, replaced by a brilliant smile. "Not many men I've seen are interested in my garden. Come along and we'll look at some more of my favorite flowers."

Remus smiled back at her and nodded. _She's so nice_, he thought and walked alongside with Narcissa, listening to her lilting voice telling him about the flowers and their uses.

A male servant was watching them from a distance, his eyes troubled as he saw Remus walking with Narcissa. Worried, he fled into another direction to tell his master about what he'd just witnessed.

-

**To Be Continued...**


	5. Remus' Power

...

Chapter 5 - Remus' Power

Sirius woke up.

It was noon, and the air was stuffy and uncomfortable. Lying on the silk-covered bed, Sirius stared up at the white ceiling and remembered blood. His body was soaked in sweat, but he didn't care, just silently lying there and thinking of his approaching birthday, thinking of the most sinful, dreadful thing he must do. A rite of passage, if one will.

He had known, for a long time, that before he became king and ruled Gryffindor, he had to prove his worth, his ability to be cold and merciless, but it still didn't make it easier for Sirius to do what he was going to do. Perhaps if he had grown up to be like Regulus, slightly mad and power-hungry, then he could do it without feeling corrupted and evil.

Sirius sat up and got out of bed, his naked body glistening in the sunlight as he walked to the closet and opened it.

After he finished dressing, Sirius left his room and made his way to James' place, feeling like he was bathed in cold water and yet, couldn't seem to muster enough will power to care.

James was sitting in the garden, reading a red, leather-bound book called _Politics: Why We Must Deceive or Die_ and chuckling to himself when Sirius came in, tall and glorious in the sunlight. The servants bowed to him, but he walked past them like they weren't there at all.

"James," Sirius said, and James looked up from his reading, smiling at his friend.

"Good morning, my prince." James stood up and set aside his book, waving for the servants to leave them. "How are you?"

"As usual," Sirius said, almost distractedly. "Where's the boy?"

"Remus? He's in his room, I believe," James said. "Do you want to visit him?"

Sirius didn't answer, just began walking. Frowning, James followed him. "Are you alright?" he asked.

"I had a dream," Sirius said flatly. "I killed my father."

James faltered, and his eyes became understanding. "Sirius..."

"It doesn't matter," Sirius interrupted. "The sooner he's gone, the better this world will be."

Walking through the corridor decorated with paintings of wars and knights, the pair stayed quiet until a servant with red hair came running toward them, her face flushed with fear and worry.

"My lords," she said when she came near, bowing respectively.

"Molly?" James asked, surprised. "What are you doing here? Where's Remus?"

"That's the problem, my lord," she said, eyes flickering to and fro Sirius and James. "He isn't in his room."

In the next instant Molly was on the ground with a furious Sirius looming over her. "Where is he?" he hissed, and Molly cowered away.

"I-I don't know, my prince," Molly said tearfully. "I told him not to go anywhere before I went to fetch some food, and when I came back, he was gone."

Sirius was looking as if he didn't know if he wanted to strike the woman or run and find Remus.

"Sirius," James said slowly. "It wasn't her fault. I'm sure Remus isn't in any danger..."

"You of all the people should know how dangerous the palace is, James," Sirius said in an eerily calm way and left, his strides quick and long.

James glanced at Molly, and then ran after Sirius with a deep sigh. _Why is it that I'm always the one running after him_?

...

Narcissa watched Remus, her gray eyes seemingly benign and sweet, when in actuality she was seething hatefully inside. She'd heard about Remus' arrival at the court, and she had also heard about Sirius killing the warden for this mysterious, pitiful looking boy. Narcissa wasn't a fool; she had grown up with Sirius, and she knew that Sirius would never kill for another person unless they meant something to him.

So why should this time be any different?

Narcissa stared at the boy and felt a deep resentment bubbling to the surface like boiled water. She loved Sirius dearly, with all her heart and everything more, and she could obviously see that Remus meant something to the prince, something that could destroy all her hope to be with him for eternity. He had only been here for two - three? - days, and Narcissa could see how his presence affected Sirius. Her cousin had barely spoken two words to her, and every time she saw him he was looking into the distance with a gaze full of longing, and, knowing Sirius all her life, he never ever wore that expression on his face. Narcissa had discreetly asked around, and soon she found out the reason of Sirius' strange behavior: Remus.

Even his name sounded horribly wrong in her ears, Narcissa thought, slowly walking up behind Remus.

Remus, on the other hand, was oblivious to his surrounding, too fascinated in the arrangement of herbs to notice anything else.

Narcissa glanced at her servants, who immediately nodded in understanding and walked away, leaving her there with a dagger in her hand.

Remus' back was facing her; it would be so easy, so very easy just to kill him and walk away. No one would know, and even if they did, they wouldn't dare speak against her.

The silver dagger gleamed malignantly under the glaring sun, and with a swift movement Narcissa brought it down on Remus.

"LADY NARCISSA!" a voice boomed out of nowhere, startling both Remus and Narcissa, who deftly hid her weapon away and smiled amicably at the white figure walking toward them.

"Dumbledore," Narcissa acknowledged, mentally cursing him with all her might.

"Beautiful day, isn't it, m'lady?" Dumbledore said cheerfully, gesturing to random places.

"Oh, very beautiful indeed." Narcissa saw Remus watching them curiously, and grasped his arm. "Dumbledore, I don't think you've met Remus before."

Dumbledore squinted his eyes at Remus, who smiled awkwardly at the old man. "Hello," he said politely.

"Remus!" Dumbledore said heartily. "Why, you're here! A bit late, but here nonetheless. You should've come and seen me before wandering about without a guide! Come now, we'll talk in my room..."

Narcissa frowned. "Do you know him, Dumbledore...?"

Dumbledore laughed as if that was the most hilarious thing he'd ever heard in his life. "Know him? He's my cousin's sister-in-law's nephew!" Remus stared at Dumbledore while Narcissa scrunched her face up in thought. _Cousin's sister-in-law's nephew... so he has a cousin, who has a sister-in-law, who has a nephew, which means..._

"Well, well, enough chatting." Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling as he grabbed Remus' arm, much to the boy's mortification. "I shall be going now. We have much to catch up on, haven't seen him since he was a babe. It's lovely to see you, Lady Narcissa. Please do inform your father that I will not be able to attend to the feast tonight. Good bye now!" And with that, he dragged a confused and unresisting Remus after him, leaving a very puzzled Narcissa behind.

It was very later that she realized Dumbledore had no relatives beside his twin brother.

...

"Excuse me, er, sir?" Remus said as he walked alongside of the strange old man, who still hadn't let go of him yet. "I'm sorry for asking, but where are you taking me?"

Dumbledore abruptly stopped, causing Remus to nearly fall over. "I'm surprised you followed along with my lie," the old man commented, seeming very pleased for some reason.

"Er..."

"Well, no worries!" Dumbledore wrung his hands up the air, that bright smile coming back to his face. "My apologies for taking you away so abruptly from the lovely Lady Narcissa, but it is better... yes, better..." Remus wondered what he was talking about.

"So, Remus," Dumbledore began, beaming at Remus as if he was his favorite grandchild. "Tell me, how'd you manage to transport yourself to this world?"

Remus stared at Dumbledore, surprise written all over his face. "How did you...?"

"Why, it's rather obvious." Dumbledore looked as if Remus had pointed out that the old man's hair was white. "Everyone's been talking about you ever since you turned the prince mad enough to murder someone, and you don't seem to me like you've been living here all your life." Dumbledore squinted at him curiously. "Or have you?" Remus quickly shook his head. "Yes, so tell me, dear boy, what brought you here?"

Remus had wondered about it before. How did he get here? He supposed he should have been more scared, and he was, but everyone he'd seen so far had been very nice, beside that horrid man in the dungeon, so he didn't worry much.

But now...

Dumbledore was waiting for him to answer, so Remus said, "I don't know, sir. I - I was in the shower," _feeling sorry for myself_, Remus thought silently, "and then I felt a pull and was here in the next moment." Dumbledore was gazing at him with unfocused eyes, deep in thought. "Do you... do you know how I got here?" Remus looked at him hopefully.

Dumbledore was silent for a while, scratching his beard. "Hmm... perhaps..." He stared at Remus some more, much to the boy's discomfort. "Remus, could you do me a favor and cut off those flowers for me?"

Remus looked at the flowers and hesitated, remembering the girl who had threatened him. "And I will take the blame if word ever got out," Dumbledore said, blue eyes twinkling in amusement.

Feeling like he had no other choice, Remus approached the bush and made to pluck the flowers -

When they shot up the air and attacked him.

_I'm going to be molested by a bunch of plants _was the only thing that came through his mind as Remus raised his arms to protect himself.

A small explosion was heard and Remus saw the flowers bursting into tiny, glittery dust before his eyes.

_Oh, my, god_. Remus stared, because the thing that had caused the explosion was a red beam shooting out of his right hand.

It was Dumbledore's satisfied laugh that brought Remus out of his shock. "Just as I thought!" he said, pleased. "Remus, it appears that you have magical power!"

Remus looked at him as if he'd grown an extra head.

...

Severus Snape was the son of an ambassador, and seeing as the birthday party of the Gryffindor prince was quickly approaching, his father decided it was best that Severus went and represented Slytherin in his stead.

_As it is a great opportunity for you to expand your knowledge before taking up the position I am carrying now,_ Severus' father had said, with such pride and expectation that Severus could only nod and give him a strained smile.

So to Gryffindor he went, with much reluctance and defiance, and now here he was, twirling a quill between his index and middle fingers in total boredom. He was to check off the list of gifts they were to bring the prince at the feast tomorrow morning, but Severus supposed Wormtail could do this for him. After all, the little boy was always complying and submissive enough, even though he came from a high and respectable family himself. Severus snorted. Wormtail was the very epitome of shame in the high classes of Slytherin. He was a follower, a coward - a manipulated fool. Though a fool does have his use at times, Severus mused.

_Speaking of which, where did he run off to?_

"Severus!"

_Ah, here comes the rat_.

Severus turned around and smiled pleasantly at Peter, or Wormtail, as Severus preferred that to his real name. Very fitting, really.

Peter was running toward him, panting and sweating like a pig that had been moving around for more than a minute and was already feeling the exertion the movement had caused it.

"Hello, Peter, enjoying your stay?" Severus asked conversationally, when a conversation was the last thing he wanted.

"You -" Peter wheezed, hands pressing against his knees as he tried to get back his breath. "You - would not believe what I've seen!"

Severus was sure that there was nothing Peter had seen that would interest him, but out of politeness, he said, "What is it?"

"Have you heard about the rumor of prince Sirius beheading a man in favor of a foreign slave? A man that had been serving his family for almost two generations?" Peter said, giddy with his own little knowledge.

"Yes," Severus answered. Really, how could he not know when that was all the servants here had been whispering about ever since he stepped foot into the palace? In all honesty, Severus was a bit curious. He had heard about Sirius Black - untamable, indifferent, and loved himself too much to care about anyone else. If that was the case, then who was this slave that made Sirius forget himself and go as far as killing? From what he knew, Sirius had never killed anyone; well, not directly, anyway.

Perhaps whatever Peter was about to tell him was not going to be so dull, after all.

"Well, I saw him!" Peter exclaimed.

Severus raised an eyebrow. "Really? And what did he look like?"

"He was the strangest sight! His hair was golden and so were his eyes, and, Severus, I have never seen anyone with golden hair before. Blond, yes, but Severus, his hair is like the color of the sun itself!"

Golden hair... Severus thought, now that's interesting. Gryffindor was a country that loved gold more than anything else. Perhaps his strange appearance was the cause of such interest in the young prince?

"And Severus, you would never believe who he was with!" Peter continued, his face flushed with excitement. "Lady Narcissa of the court! Oh, she is beautiful." A dreamy look passed over Peter's face.

Severus tensed visibly. "Narcissa Black, the woman our king has been trying to court all these years."

"I heard she's in love with Prince Sirius. Severus, Severus, is it true?"

Severus did not answer him. Instead, he absently walked over to the balcony that looked out into the garden. This Black family... everything here seemed very complicated. A woman that won the heart of the King of Slytherin was in love with her own cousin, who was, as he saw it, very smitten with a mere slave...

A slave with golden hair.

A smile graced Severus' face.

This visit might be worthwhile, after all.

...

When Remus came back to the Potters' place that day, he was, quite literally, assaulted.

The prince was sitting on his bed, along with James Potter. They both seemed to be deep in thoughts, except Sirius swayed a bit more into the anger category than the thinking.

Remus was a bit surprised at their presence, and realized, with mild embarrassment and guilt, that he wasn't supposed to leave at all. Though they couldn't blame him for being bored out of his mind, Remus protested silently.

"Hello," Remus greeted them hesitantly, and saw Sirius' head snap up like he'd been pulled by his hair roughly backwards. Remus didn't have time to care about that, though, because immediately the prince was on him, a hand grasping his hair with such violence that Remus couldn't help but let out a pained gasp.

"Where have you been?" Sirius hissed, his hot breath wafting across Remus' face. Almost unconsciously Remus noticed that Sirius smelled of spice and something intoxicatingly exotic. It made him slightly dizzy.

"I..." Remus murmured. Sirius really was merciless. His fingers were gripping hard at his hair, nails scraping his skull in a very unpleasant way, and still, he didn't tell Remus the reason why he was _this_ mad. Hazily, Remus wondered where the man with the saddest, gentlest eyes that held his head so carefully yesterday had gone to.

"Did you not understand what it means by _do not leave your room without permission_?" Through all that fear he held for the prince, Remus couldn't help but feel indignant at being treated like a little kid. Really, he was seventeen, for god's sake. It wasn't like the whole palace was streaming with murderers that wanted his head or anything. Remus didn't know, at that time, how true the statement was.

Sirius gave Remus a long and intense gaze, as if he wanted to say something, but couldn't find the right words. For some odd reason, Remus was glad for his silence. He felt like Sirius was restricting him to this place. Hell, they didn't even know each other for that long, and Remus wasn't so sure that he wanted to know more about him, either. The man was like an unpredictable, ill-tempered dog that would bite when he was displeased. Which was almost all the time, in Remus' personal opinion.

For a brief second, Remus felt like he was back at the orphanage again.

James, sensing that something was amiss, quickly came over and took Sirius's hand away from Remus. "We were quite worried, Remus. You shouldn't run off like that without telling anyone. It's very dangerous."

Remus turned to smile wanly at James. "Thank you, and I'm sorry for any inconvenience I've caused." James felt a strange feeling that was akin to jealousy radiating from Sirius, and it was at that moment that suspicions rose in his heart.

"Are you hungry? Do you want anything? Molly can..." James asked kindly, grasping Remus' arm and leading him over to the table near the window, all the while feeling a bit afraid and curious at Sirius' reaction.

Sirius, on the other hand, was glaring at him hotly, jealousy burning through every vein in his body. _What the hell is James doing_?

"... in Lady Narcissa's garden." Sirius caught the last bit of information Remus was saying, and all at once a gripping sensation held his heart still. Narcissa...

In an instance, Sirius was standing right before him again. "What did she do to you?" he asked, looking at Remus as if he was about to die at any moment.

Remus couldn't begin to describe how uncomfortable he was feeling being so near to Sirius, out of apprehension and, well, their proximity was giving him strange flashes from his dream... a dream that he had last night, in which they had...

Remus flushed a shade of mauve, which didn't go unnoticed by James. "Nothing," he said softly, but he was looking straight into Sirius' piercing gaze, as if he was challenging him.

But challenging him to what?

James watched as their staring contest began, and wondered what Remus was thinking. At first, the boy struck him as a reticent, sweet young man who was very miserable and lonely, but he didn't think Remus would dare looking at Sirius like that. Most people would run really far away screaming when Sirius glared at them, but Remus...

Remus was staring right back, his golden eyes burning with intensity that almost matched that of Sirius', and with a pleasant surprise he saw that Sirius was a bit taken aback at Remus' behavior. James had never seen Sirius looking so flustered before, and it was a nice change to see him now; the prince, in all his glory, was suddenly blushing at Remus' stare and looking away as if he was embarrassed.

Yes, embarrassed.

"Lady Narcissa was very sweet and polite to me. She even insisted on showing me around her garden," Remus said slowly, all at once feeling very self-conscious. He couldn't believe he had just seen - a hint of blush creeping up Sirius' neck and spreading across his cheeks like a rose-colored shadow falling across the sky.

Remus found it very... adorable.

"I don't trust her," Sirius muttered, regaining his composure. "And so shouldn't you. She's not one to befriend. You'd be best to stay away from her." With that said, Sirius turned and walked out the door, his graceful and confident strides were now a bit unsteady, and for a moment James thought he was going to walk straight into the door. Thank God he didn't, otherwise James would have a hard time helping him find his pride.

When Sirius was gone, Remus spoke up. "Why must he be so spiteful and violent?"

James smiled at Remus and the boy relaxing slightly. "You must forgive him. He did not grow up learning to socialize properly. Violence is one of his ways to show he cares."

Remus looked like he wanted to say something, but he shook his head and looked up at James. "Thank you... James. You are very kind."

James was surprised at Remus' gratitude, and even more so when he realized it was the first time Remus had said his name. It was oddly pleasant to hear himself being addressed by his first name and not _m'lord_ all the time by someone beside his family and Sirius.

"Don't worry about it," James grinned. "It's a delight to have you as a guest here." _And I'm sure Sirius thinks so too_, he silently added. James planned to have a talk with Sirius sometime soon, because it was apparent that the prince was completely smitten with Remus, and was having difficulty expressing his feelings, too.

"I'll be retiring to my room for now," James said, seeing Remus' stressful face. He smiled discreetly when he saw Remus sighing in relief.

Pausing at the door, James glanced back. "Remus?" The boy looked up. "Next time when you feel lackluster, come to me and I'll take you around town. There are many things outside the palace's walls that I'm sure you'll love to see. Besides, we don't want to send our prince into another one of his tantrums, do we?" James winked. Remus couldn't help but gave a small grin.

"Good evening to you then, Remus, and see you tomorrow."

Remus watched as the door closed, leaving him here alone, finally, in this large, unfamiliar room with nothing but his thoughts to keep him company.

The floor gave indistinct sounds as Remus' feet took him to the large window looking out into the river. The sky was dimming, and Remus could see the first glimmers of stars making their appearance. He gave a little sigh. It had been a very odd few days, adapting to his life here and learning little by little how restricted he was to this place.

It was terribly unfair and unreasonable of Sirius to blow up at him just because he didn't want to stay in this room, having nothing productive to do except sleep, eat, and daydream. He really didn't see any harm from going outside and walking around for a while. He knew, through Molly, that Sirius had commanded the guards to leave him alone for the most part, so why wouldn't Sirius let him go outside?

Remus picked at the seam of his sleeve distractedly, watching the sun losing itself behind the horizon. Everything was turning dark, and it made Remus feel like he being enveloped in darkness. It wasn't a pleasant feeling.

On the table was a small candle, and Remus looked at it, contemplating. Eventually his hand rose up, slender fingers extending toward the candle, and he waited, concentrating.

Soon enough, the candle lit up. Remus smiled, his hand retreating. It seemed like his lesson today with Dumbledore wasn't a waste of time, after all.

...

"Magic is rare, even in this world. Those who do practice it, however, have their own unique power; each is bound to one specific element."

Remus listened intently as Dumbledore paced his study and explained to him about his magical ability. After Remus had gotten over the initial shock the revelation of his power had brought in the garden, Dumbledore had taken him back to his study, determined to help him with his magic so he wouldn't inflict harm upon himself - or other people, for that matter.

"Take me for example. My magic is earth magic, which means that everything I do has to relate to nature. I have control over seasons, weathers, and anything nature-related, because my magic allows me to do so."

Remus was confused. "But aren't you the wizard of the court? Aren't you supposed to help the king keep the kingdom in peace and advise in warfare and such? How can you do that when your magic is limited to one specific field?"

Dumbledore smiled. "True, but you know, everything has a loophole, and it's up to you to connect it with your power and use it to your advantage." Seeing Remus' blank expression, Dumbledore continued, "Seeing is understanding. Look, here."

Dumbledore beckoned him over to the window, and Remus did. They were in the highest tower of the palace, looking down into Hogwarts River and almost everything else. "See the flag over there?" He pointed his finger to the golden flag that was whipping proudly on top of the west tower, judging from the point of the sun in the sky. "Now, with my kind of magic, I cannot directly take the flag out of its place, let alone summoning it, but if I do this..." Dumbledore flicked his fingers at the tree near the flag, and Remus watched, fascinated, as the branches on the tree twisted and wound their ways slowly up the tower. He couldn't believe his eyes when they began pulling the flag against its restraint and it actually fell away. Dumbledore made another motion with his hand, and the wind picked up the object and carried it toward them.

Remus looked at Dumbledore admiringly as he snatched the flag and showed it to Remus. "Do you understand now?" Dumbledore asked, but all Remus could do was stare.

"Sir," he said breathlessly, "that was _cool_."

Dumbledore beamed. "It was the first trick I learned a long time ago when I first practiced my magic."

Remus looked at the flag, which was floating back to its original place, and then up at Dumbledore, his expression genuinely interested. "Do you think... do you I can do that?"

"You can do anything, if you put your mind to it," Dumbledore said. "And I really do mean it. You need all the concentration you have in order to do this kind of thing without losing control. Doing magic is not easy, so don't take it lightly. And you shouldn't rely on it too much, because it can be very draining."

Remus then remembered the most important question. "Dumbledore, sir, if each person's magic is unique to themselves, then what kind of magic do I have?"

"Ah," Dumbledore said slowly, pouring himself a cup of tea. "Tea, my dear?" Remus shook his head. "I'm not so sure what kind of magic you have, but I'm willing to wager that yours is protection magic."

"Protection magic?"

Dumbledore nodded. "When I set those flowers off at you, I was sure your only thought was to defend yourself, am I correct?" Remus wondered if Dumbledore could read mind, and nodded. "I must say, I was quite impressed when you effectively prevented those flowers from attacking you and not burning your surrounding in the process."

Remus blushed, very flattered.

"But I am quite puzzled," Dumbledore said, rubbing his white beard thoughtfully.

"What, sir?"

"Why didn't you use your magic to fight off that man in the dungeon when he was hurting you?"

Remus was taken aback by that question. _How did Dumbledore know that_? "Erm... I'm not sure. I- I think, perhaps, I wasn't thinking of protecting myself, and, er, my hands were bound, and I still didn't know I could do magic."

"Hmm... I see..." Dumbledore seemed deep in thought.

"Um, sir?" Dumbledore looked at him. "May I ask you a question?"

"You already did," Dumbledore said, amused when Remus turned red. "But go on."

"How did you know that I was..." He gestured vaguely, hoping Dumbledore would understand. "That I was in the dungeon?"

"Ah, that, it's nothing complicated," Dumbledore answered. "News travel fast around this place, especially when it concerns the eldest prince."

Remus was puzzled by that fact. "Why him?"

Dumbledore let out a small laugh that sounded a bit forced, as if he couldn't believe Remus had just asked him that. "It's always Sirius, my dear child. He's... very important to our kingdom."

Remus wanted to ask more. He wanted to know why it was just Sirius, and not his younger brother. He wanted to know why Sirius seemed so sad, and yet he acted as if nothing mattered to him. He wanted to know why Sirius was so bipolar, for lack of better word. He wanted... well, he wanted to know a lot of things.

"Come now, Remus, I'm going to teach you how to use your power properly."

And their discussion ended there.

...

The sun had set, and as Remus sat there, his face illuminated by the soft, glowing candle, he wondered if he was better off living in the orphanage after all.

Because, back in the orphanage, despite how miserable he was, he knew that one day he would be free, but now, he wasn't sure he would ever be free at all.

...

_To Be Continued..._

...

Many, many thanks to my beta, Rynne, who did a magnificent job on fixing my endless errors.


	6. Runaways

Chapter 6 – Runaways

The study of Lucius Malfoy was dark and cold, just like the rest of the castle. It consisted of many bookshelves and strange, magical objects. There was no window, but a large gap on the very top of a wall closed off by iron bars. There was a fireplace, but it was almost never in use, for the occupant of the room preferred the icy chill rather than the comforting warmth.

The said occupant of the room was currently sitting behind his desk, speaking with an ominous figure covered in black cloak. They have been conversing since evening, speaking conspiratorially about a plan that had been forming over many months.

As the light was steadily replaced by an eerie darkness, the cloaked man raised his hand and waved absently, causing a green fire to ignite from the hearth of the fireplace that sent sinister shadows creeping across the room made of stones.

Lucius, apparently having to deal with this kind of magic daily, was not impressed. However, he stayed quiet and waited for his guest to speak.

"We have an agreement, then," he finally said, his face hidden unseen behind the hood.

"Yes, the changes will be put in motion immediately, and you will be able to enter Gryffindor without trouble," Lucius said stiffly. Although he was a man who didn't fear much, Lucius still couldn't shake off that very feeling whenever he was around the presence of this person.

"I have another favor to ask of you," he said, and Lucius shuddered at the strange iciness that swept across him when the stranger spoke.

"Ask, then, and I will do anything I can for you."

The man asked and watched with a quiet smile as disbelief etched itself onto Lucius's face.

-

Remus was with Dumbledore practicing his magic when it happened.

Loud and clear as if it was right next to his ears, trumpets and horns blared violently into existence across the place, which, of course, got Remus distracted, causing the fires that were hurling toward him to burst into ashes along with the table behind it.

"No worries, dear," Dumbledore said when he saw that Remus was about to apologize. "It happens."

With a smile he crossed the room and looked out the window. "Ah, as expected, the daughter of Emerlia Evans is here."

Remus quirked his head in curiosity. Many people have been coming into the palace lately and no such welcome was seen. "Is she a very important person, sir?"

Dumbledore chuckled. "I suppose so." But before Remus could ask more questions, the wizard said, "I think that's enough for today, Remus, you may go."

Remus looked at him questioningly, but he could sense that Dumbledore wanted to be alone. Feeling a bit confused, Remus left the wizard's office.

As Remus descended the tower, he marveled at the control he was having over his newly discovered magic. It had been three days, and he was getting better and better at it. The thought lifted his spirit somewhat, and with a smile, he sprang down the last few steps and ran out into the main garden, oblivious to the disapproving looks the people in the halls gave him.

Remus wondered, as he made his way through the throng of people, why, in nearly one week he had been here, no one beside Sirius, James, Molly, and Dumbledore would talk to him. He had tried a few times to make conversation with some servants, but they all seemed to be avoiding him. Being ignored was something he was quite used to, but it still smart.

Speaking of being ignored, the prince seemed to be refusing to speak to him, too. It would have been fine, except that Sirius was everywhere he went... literally. When Remus was going with Molly to the main kitchen, he saw Sirius following them from a few yards behind. When he was practicing magic in his room, he saw Sirius standing right in sight outside of his window, pretending to be fishing. When he was reading outdoor, he saw Sirius looking at him from a far away distance, but what was worst, was when they were in the same room.

Remus remembered about a day ago, when he, James, and Sirius was in the courtyard together. He had been trying to learn how to play Quidditch, a game that resembled soccer a lot, when James suddenly got called away, leaving Sirius and Remus there.

Alone.

It had been the most awkward moment in his life, Remus decided. Sirius had abandoned all the pretense of playing and moved onto staring at him instead. Remus, on the other hand, was kicking a ball into one of the three loops on the ground a few feet away and kept on missing it. He had been doing just fine when James was there, since then it was easier to ignore Sirius' gaze, but now, it was almost hard to breathe when all Sirius did was _staring_ at him. Remus could almost swear the prince would eventually burn a hole through him with all that intense looks, so he tried to strike up a conversation with him.

Which turned out to be a wrong move, because when Remus asked him "Do you want to play together?", Sirius turned alarmingly red and, to Remus' horror, had a massive nosebleed.

Needless to say, Remus pretty much stopped trying to talk to Sirius after that.

Now, as he looked down the path to where a woman and a very important looking man were walking, he couldn't help but feel that he shouldn't have stopped speaking to Sirius. _Really_, Remus thought, _Sirius isn't so bad_. _Just the other day he showed me the library of the palace, and gave me full permission to take out any book I want_, _though I wonder why. I never told him I liked reading._

Remus didn't tell Sirius he liked reading, but Molly did. Over the past week, Molly had become someone like Remus' sister. He had told her a lot of things, including the place where he came from. Molly didn't seem to understand that there were no magic or kings there, but she listened, and Remus was very grateful for that.

Murmurs all around brought him out of his reverie, and along with eager faces he turned to the object of all the commotion.

Next to the man in blue was a girl about his age looking around very haughtily. She had long, light brown hair and small, watery blue eyes. She was speaking to the porky little man, seeming very irritated for some reason.

Remus tugged on the sleeve of an elderly man next to him. "Who's that girl over there?" he asked.

"Her?" the man stared at him in disbelief. "She is the princess of Ravenclaw! She's rumored to be the most beautiful daughter of all Queen Evans' daughters."

"The rumor proves false, then," another man snorted. "She resembles a horse." Remus privately agreed with him.

"Restrain yourself from badmouthing her," the first man warned. "If anyone hears, consider yourself in big trouble."

"I'm not afraid of her."

"You should well be, man, she is engaged to the eldest prince of Gryffindor. I was at the engagement party few years back. She was very pretty then. One could only wonder what's happened to her."

"No matter. The only thing I'm curious about is why the king engaged his son to such a hideous person. She looks so unpleasant."

"It isn't about looks. She has a gift. It's known all in Ravenclaw that Princess Lily is an expert at charms, _and_ she's only seventeen."

"No wonder she was chosen. The king wants her power."

"Be that as it may, the king won't be using her power anytime soon. It'll be Prince Sirius who is."

"Why?"

"Well, it is always a tradition for the eldest prince to inherit the throne once he turns eighteen, but first the prince must prove that he is a capable heir -"

"How's he going to prove that?"

"You are not from Gryffindor, are you? Well, no matter, I shall tell you our tradition. Ever since the Black dynasty began its reign, Gryffindor has become a dark and sinister place. They're not very close with Slytherin though, mind you. Those Slytherins are too sneaky and dishonest for the Gryffindors' taste, and we all must remember the story of the Founders. No matter who rules Gryffindor, the old rivalry between the two kingdoms will never cease to exist." The old man shook his head.

"Get to the point, man."

"Yes, right, there' is a ritual that will be held on the prince's eighteen birthday, a ritual that has been passed on in the Black family for many generations. It is the most terrifying, brutal thing anyone could ever do. If anyone is capable of doing such deed, then they deserve worse than hell."

"What? What is it?"

The old man opened his mouth to answer, but he was interrupted by a loud, ear-piercing shriek blasting across the air. When they looked up to see what happened, they saw the princess being attacked by a large, eagle owl.

While people murmured and pushed each other out of the way to see what was going on, no one noticed a blond boy disappearing through the crowd.

-

It was hard for Remus to explain why he felt so disturbed knowing that Sirius had a fiancée. Really, he had only discovered that Sirius was engaged, not dying, so why was there this insistent, thumping pain in his chest that just refused to go away?

He knew why he was feeling this way though; he just didn't want to understand.

He had just found out that the guy who'd appeared in his dream every night for the past seventeen years was now getting married to some buck-toothed princess that resembled a horse more than human. And that Remus had, for some reason that didn't matter to him anymore, believed the words that were spoken in the dream.

_My savior..._

When Remus was young, he had wondered what the word savior meant. He'd asked Frank about it, and Frank had told him. Remus had been giddy - delighted, even - knowing that he was so important to someone, even if that someone was from a dream. He had always looked forward to nighttime, so that he could see the man that looked at him with anguished eyes and spoke in wonderment when he said Remus was his savior. It was something of a consolation for Remus, living that dratted place with nearly everyone looking down on him.

But more than that, Sirius was a comfort to him. He had grown up seeing Sirius' face every night, dreaming of touching the face that had became very familiar to him, wanting to put his arms around that beautiful body. Sometimes, the dream got so vivid that Remus didn't know which was reality and which was just a flash of his unconsciousness, and frankly, he didn't really care. All he knew was that once he was fast asleep, falling into the mercy hands of oblivion, he was approaching the object of his happiness... the one who called him _savior_.

As Remus grew older, his childhood belief remained behind, but the comfort his dreams brought never left him. After a long day of working his hands raw, of listening to older kids teasing him and watching younger ones being too afraid of trouble to come near him, it would bring a smile to Remus' face whenever he imagined Sirius saying _savior_ as he looked at Remus with hope in his eyes, grasping Remus' hand, gently guiding Remus' face toward his...

It was a sweet feeling, a dream though it was, and Remus would feel much better about himself when he remembered it. Even though he told himself that dreams weren't real, deep down inside he still believed that Sirius was a reality.

When he was transported here, seeing Sirius face to face for the first time, all those feelings - longing, comfort, happiness, the feeling of _belonged_ - resurfaced in him and he believed those words in his dream all over again.

But then, Sirius turned out to be someone he hadn't expected at all. His eyes weren't full of anguish when they first locked with Remus'; they were cruel and arrogant, like the eyes of an antagonist who held no one in esteem. Sirius' voice was like a snowstorm – cold, strong, and worst of all, Sirius never said those things he said in Remus' pretty dreams.

He never thought disappointment could feel so horrible. Then again, reality had always been a slap to his face, except this time, it stung pretty badly.

His disappointment, however, had vanished quickly when he saw the other, more familiar side of Sirius.

Sometimes, when Sirius' guard was down, Remus saw intense, unspoken things behind the dark blue eyes. He saw an innocence that still should be with Sirius, a soul deprived of love and affection, but most importantly, he saw _Sirius_. The Sirius that was trapped in a cage made by his family to keep him in his place, a cage with haunting words that shaped Sirius' behavior and reminded him of what he was.

Whenever Remus saw Sirius like that, it urged him to put his arms around Sirius and tell him all sorts of good things. He never had the chance, though, because Sirius was always quick to hide himself behind his barricade, leaving Remus facing a fierce tempered man with cold, cruel eyes.

Nevertheless, Remus knew what he saw, and he felt much happier now that he was near the man in his dream.

And now said man was engaged.

For some obscured reason, Remus felt betrayed.

_God, I am so stupid_, Remus thought, shaking his head and slowing down his pace as he walked. _They were dreams, and just because the man in those dreams happened to be Sirius doesn't mean anything special._

Remus wasn't sure why he was surprised. In all the stories he'd read, the prince always married the princess and lived happily ever after, so it should fit that Sirius married a princess and lived happily ever after, too.

But Sirius wasn't happy, that he knew for certain, and no one could have a happy ending if they were miserable.

-

Severus was wandering the garden, deep in his own thoughts, when he saw a figure in servant clothes lurking around the bushes. He would have turned and walked away, had that person not whispered strange words to a piece of paper, which then curled itself into a ball and disappeared.

_A witch in the palace,_ Severus mused, walking quietly toward her. _How interesting_.

"You, girl!" The girl jumped guiltily and spun around to look at Severus.

At this angle, Severus could see her face clearly. She was very pretty, with flowing hair like the red dawn and eyes like precious emeralds carved into a lovely face. On her white and brown dress, he saw the Ravenclaw seal.

"What are you doing here, servant?" Severus demanded, crossing his arms and looming down over her with a hardened face.

The girl looked a bit bewildered at first, but then, she gave him a long look and drew herself up high. "That's none of your business, is it?"

"Such an insolent way to speak to a noble," Severus sneered. "Who do you serve?"

The servant looked hesitant, as if she was weighing her option as to whether she should tell him or not.

_Or rather_, Severus noted, _she is debating whether to tell me the truth or not_.

Severus always praised himself on his ability to read people easily, and he could read that this girl was not what she seemed to be.

With a sudden movement Severus took a step closer to the servant and took her by the wrist. "Who are you?" he hissed.

"Let go of me!" she said angrily, trying to pull her arm away. "Let go, or I'll yell for help!"

Severus ignored her annoying shrilling and snatched the papers he saw her holding earlier.

They were all blank sheets of paper, the kind that students would use to write with. There was nothing special about them, and yet, Severus had seen her do magic with them.

Opening his mouth to further interrogate her, Severus found that he was interrupted by voices coming near them.

"... can't believe you'd do that, Sirius! Did you see her face?"

"Oh, yes, like a horse got kicked in the rear! After this, I'm going to give Aleron a very special treat."

"That's one useful owl you have, Sirius. Personally, I think Petunia is even worse than that stupid redhead..."

The girl yelped and stomped her foot on Severus's. He cursed, letting go of her hand. There was no time to yell at her, though, the prince and his companion were fast approaching.

Sirius and James stopped dead in their track when they saw Severus standing next to a crouching servant, who had her back to them.

The smile on Sirius' face disappeared immediately when he saw Severus. "Who are you?" he asked hostilely.

Severus did not answer. Instead, he stood and observed the infamous prince for the very first time. He looked exactly like how Severus had imagined him: tall, dark, handsome, and utterly arrogant.

"He's a Slytherin," James said, giving Severus a very disparaging look.

Indignation rose quickly in Severus' heart at the way he said _Slytherin_.

"What are you doing here in the private garden of Lady Narcissa? And without an escort?" Sirius demanded, grinning maliciously.

Severus, however, was not easily scared. "Lady Narcissa gave me her permission to be here." He fervently hoped that Sirius wouldn't ask his cousin about him.

"Hmph," Sirius said, his eyes falling to the figure that was still on the ground. "Who's that?" He pointed at the girl.

Severus glanced at her. "I don't know nor do I care. I saw her lurking around here when I passed by."

Without a word, James marched over to her and grabbed her arm, spinning the girl around to face them all.

Severus was surprised and amused when he saw that she had smeared her face with dirt, leaving it completely unrecognizable saved for those green eyes.

She seemed to be avoiding Sirius' gaze, resolving to glare at James instead. "I advise you let go of me," she said coolly, and then added, "I have a contagious disease, you see."

James immediately let go of her.

Severus saw the servant smiling secretly to herself, and decided that he had had enough of all these people for today. Quietly he moved out of sight, knowing that their full attention was on the servant girl.

"What's your name?" Sirius asked, looking at her suspiciously.

"My name... is... Liana."

"Well, then, Liana," James said slowly. "Why don't you tell us why you're here?"

"Er... um... I got lost," she said. "I went to fetch the princess some water and..."

"Princess?" Sirius interrupted. "What princess?"

"It's not Lily Evans of Ravenclaw, is it?" James said witheringly. "She's not here _too_?"

For some odd reason, Liana seemed very annoyed at their attitude. "Yes she is," she snapped. "She's here and she's waiting for the prince." Liana smirked at Sirius' unhappy face.

"Fine, she can wait all she wants, but I'm not meeting her," Sirius said stubbornly, crossing his arms. "She's a conniving little witch."

"You're just afraid she's going to hang you in the air for hours and won't let you down," Liana shot back.

Sirius narrowed his eyes. "How'd you know about that?"

"The princess told me. She told everyone she knew, actually," she said delightfully.

Sirius turned red around the ears, and swore that the next time he saw Lily Evans, he was going to do more than terrorized her like he had when they were little.

-

Remus was lost.

He had ran blindly for a while, blurring across some guards and trees and now he was standing in a sort of maze, surrounded by high walls of bushes with lots of colorful flowers.

Remus was beginning to hate flowers.

He looked around helplessly. He was lost, tired, and hungry. _This could not get any worse_, Remus thought, turning around a corner and fell down a pit.

Feeling absolutely terrified that he was plunging downward, Remus forgot about using his magic to help himself up until a few moments later, in which his logic kicked in. Closing his eyes tightly Remus willed himself to rise up.

Apparently he was concentrating too hard on getting himself up, because not a second later Remus felt himself _shooting _upward. He wasn't sure which was more terrifying, falling down or rocketing up, and decided that he was too scared to care.

When Remus's feet found solid ground a few seconds later, he promised himself that he would never wander the palace without a guide ever again.

Finally regained his wits, Remus looked on and saw that he had fallen into a very large pit extending five feet across. Angrily he wondered who would build such an ugly hole in the ground and try to kill innocent passersby with it.

Marching to the opposite direction, Remus came across a very interesting sight.

On each side of him were tall bushes carved into shapes of knights, standing with both of their hands resting on the hilt of their sword. They looked very real, Remus noted as he passed them.

Strange rustling sounds behind Remus made him pause in his track. Feeling a sick sense of foreboding, Remus turned around -

And came face to face with the same four knights that had been standing still just a moment ago. Their swords were raised, ready to strike.

_You cannot be serious_. Remus ran, turning corner after corner, hoping to lose those knights. All his hoping was in vain, though, because they were catching up to him, and Remus, to his dismay, came to a dead end.

Remus turned around, feeling apprehension gripping his insides as green figures came marching up to him. He hesitantly raised his fingers toward them, but the nearest knight brought his sword down and any closer he would have had Remus' hand.

_Whoa, close_, he thought, ducking and rolling away as another blow landed at the place where he'd been. Determinedly Remus flicked his fingers toward one of them, and with a swishing sound the knight burst into flame. He repeated the motion until all that were left of them was a pile of ashes on the ground.

Remus shook his head and began walking.

-

After she was escorted back to the Guest Hall by James, the girl called Liana was in a bout of indignation. It was hard not to be, when James had taken to ridicule her all the way from the garden back, which was a pretty long way.

_If I ever see him again, I'm going to put the strongest Tickling Charm I know on him and never take it off_, she swore heatedly as she stormed down the hall. _He's worse than that dog of a prince_!

"Lily! Is that you?"

Hearing the familiar voice, Liana turned and came face to face with a very sweet looking girl. "Alice!"

"What have you done to yourself? You're covered in dirt!" Alice scolded.

"Never mind that. Where _were_ you?"

"I was packing!" she said earnestly, holding up a bag full of clothes and another one full of food, and then a few more other bags full of things that Lily knew weren't necessary.

"Alice, we're running away, not going on a pleasure trip," Lily said, hiding a smile. "We won't be needing that much."

Alice's face fell. "But... princess --" Lily looked at her warningly. "I mean, _Liana_, surely we'll be needing all this. I mean, you can't possibly be thinking of sleeping in some cheap inn without your favorite blanket or drinking out of those dirty cups and not your pretty ones?"

Lily flushed. "I'm not a snob that's going to die if I don't live with my er, _pretty_ things, Alice. Anyway, we're just going to leave for a while, until this whole engagement thing is over. We'll be back soon."

Alice still looked upset. "Are you sure you want to do this, Lily - Liana? I mean, the queen will be furious when she finds out you use a Memory Charm on everyone to make them believe Petunia is you. Really, what if she _marries_ Sirius?"

"It's only temporary, Alice. Besides, even if the charm is permanent, then I have done Petunia a favor, and myself. Sure, mother will realize that it's Petunia, and yes, she'll be furious, but she'll understand and cancel the engagement. If not, then Petunia gets her wish and marries Sirius. It's a win-win situation." Seeing Alice's dubious face, Lily became exasperated. "Come on, Alice. You don't want me to marry that spoiled, inconsiderate, insolent, bad-tempered, loud-mouthed idiot, do you?" Lily gave her friend a pitiful look. "Do you?"

Alice looked at Lily with an unsure expression, and then sighed dejectedly. "Alright, but we're taking lots of papers just in case you're in trouble, and if the queen finds out, I'm blaming everything on you."

Lily brightened. "Of course, so, when are we leaving?"

"It's too crowded right now, but we can sneak out after dark," Alice said. "How's your Sleeping Charm?"

"It's pretty good," Lily said eagerly. "The last time I used it the man only slept for a week."

"As long as people don't think they're dead and try to bury them," Alice said meaningfully. Lily, at least, had the grace to blush.

"It was months ago, Alice!" Lily said. "And besides, I got punished for it."

"Yes, well, that wasn't very fun, either." Shaking her head, she took Lily's arm. "Let's go and get some rest, Lily. We only have a few hours of peace before dusk falls."

"Okay, and you better get the papers with good quality," Lily reminded her. "I'm sick of trying to will my magic into the cheap ones and having them dance around like rabbits."

"But you like rabbits!" Alice giggled.

"Not if they keep interfering with my magic," Lily retorted. "Anyway, let's go back to our room and see if I can make a really strong Tickling Charm." Seeing Alice's confused look, she added, "As a gift, in exchange for Gryffindor's extravagant welcome."

-

_Just where the hell am I? _Remus thought, breathing heavily.

After rescuing himself from falling into a bottomless pit, burning funny looking green knights, passing a path full of shooting arrows, running away from horrific singing sculptures, having a nearly headless ghost trying to engage him in a conversation about his death, and still clueless of his whereabouts, Remus' patience was wearing very thin.

It was getting dark, the sky turning from a steady gray to inky blue. Molly must be worried, Remus thought with dismay. He wondered if Sirius would lose his head at him like the last time if he came back late, and realized that thinking about Sirius gave him an aching feeling inside, so he tried to think about something else.

But that wasn't an option, either, since there were voices speaking around a corner Remus was walking toward.

His first instinct was to ask them to help him get out, but his second instinct told him that he could get in trouble. They might think he was an intruder, or worse, a spy. Remus shook his head and decided that he would wait to see what kind of people they were before revealing himself.

Slipping quietly between a gap in the bushes, Remus crouched down and listened.

"... the Order has been very active for the past two weeks. Thrice we have resorted violence, and once they came very close to the gate. The loss isn't excessive, but it still lowers the number of the palace guards more than necessary. I also think that there's a spy within our walls, your majesty." With wide eyes, Remus recognized the voice as James' father's, and... was he speaking to the king?

"Then deal with it. I want Sirius' birthday to go smoothly and without trouble. There are many important figures from all over the land, not just the main kingdoms. I do not want any unexpected surprises. It would be too much to worry about, with all the chaos going on right now."

"Yes, your majesty. There's also the guest from Slytherin. He told us that Lucius was unable to come because he just took over the throne -"

"He's lying," the king interrupted. "I know Lucius. He wouldn't miss a chance to see Narcissa. He must be up to something. Contact Persephone immediately and see if she knows what's going on. Meanwhile, keep an eye on that Slytherin guest. Oh, and I heard that the son of Magnus Snape is here."

"Severus Snape is rumored to be the greatest potion maker in Slytherin."

"Take good care of him, then, and see if you can get him to make a few useful potions for us. Make sure to not be so obvious. I think Dumbledore will be able to talk him into it."

"I'll see to it right away, and also, your majesty, Princess Lily of Ravenclaw is here, and she is complaining that someone had set an owl after her. She is also demanding that we pay for her ruined dress."

"Sirius must be up to his usual tricks again. I have to talk to him after this, though I cannot blame him wholly. Lily Evans is getting very obnoxious and... unattractive. I'm actually reconsidering the idea of this marriage. It is unacceptable for the future queen of Gryffindor to be so distasteful. She was quite pretty when I last saw her. I guess it is incorrect to believe that people only get prettier, not uglier," he said all this in a very serious voice.

Remus heard Mr. Potter coughed quietly. "Indeed, my king, and I shall ask the palace's tailor to design another dress for her."

"Speaking of Sirius, I haven't seen him lately. Is he with James and that boy again?"

"He is very busy with his practices and schooling, but he does spend time with James and Remus."

"Remus? Is that his name? Well, it is very undignified of him to be friends with a slave." _I am _not_ a slave_, Remus thought crossly. "I am hearing some questionable rumors concerning him and the boy. I do hope he has not forgotten his position as the heir to the throne." His voice held a warning.

"I am sure he has not forgotten, your majesty. The prince is very diligent in his studies and he is following everything according to your wishes."

"And yet he still defends that commoner. Doesn't Sirius know that the boy is nothing but trouble for him? Does he even listen to what people are saying about him? I am not sure how many have died these past few days for speaking ill of him, and yet he acts as if he couldn't care less. The queen is also very unhappy, complaining to me about Sirius' improper behavior. She is maddening me with her talks. Apparently Narcissa is displeased because of Sirius' lack of attention. I do not blame her, even I feel my patience wearing thin at Sirius' ignorance. The rumors do nothing but to make me more determined to get rid of that boy. Really, Sirius could do better. If he wants a playmate, then he can have anyone he wants. Why must he be so stubborn and refuse a little favor I ask of him? If only he let Narcissa dispose that Remus boy, then I won't have to listen to those women badgering me about it days and nights."

There was a pause. "Perhaps... perhaps Sirius is wanting him as more than a playmate."

"Do not say such a thing." The voice was sharp. "Sirius may not be hardened enough under my care, but he still has his standards. He will never fall in love with someone inferior to him. They are two different worlds. Water and mud. Diamond and stone. I'd rather die than to have my son love someone like that."

There was a long silence, in which Remus felt his heart tightened painfully in his chest. There were roaring sounds in his ears, and Remus was blinded by what he'd heard. He felt like he was in a waking dream, listening to this conversation, listening to the king _belittling_ him.

But that didn't matter. He'd dealt with much worse. What hurt was... was...

There was a gentle tug on his sleeve, and dazedly Remus looked down at his arm.

There was an animal's paw resting on it.

"Oh," Remus said softly, gazing up at a big, black dog. For some odd reason looking at it gave him the urge to cry.

The dog quirked its head at him, then gently nudged his hand and disappeared through the bush full of thorns.

Remus watched, feeling a bit hazy and uncertain, when the dog emerged again and gave Remus a look that said, "Follow me."

Hesitantly Remus pushed his hand through the bush, and watched in amazement as it slipped through easily. Feeling a bit hopeful, Remus followed the creature.

The dog, it appeared, was leading him somewhere. Preferably out of this place, Remus thought as he walked through a sheet of falling acid right in front of his face. It didn't hurt, but gave him a tinkling feeling.

After a while Remus came out of the maze, smiling at the dog. It was wagging its tail at him, and Remus felt his anxiety ebbing away slightly. He reached out and scratched the dog behind its ear. "Thanks, boy. You're one smart dog."

Remus wondered if he should go back, and felt surprised to know that it was the last thing he wanted to do. Hours ago he was hungry and tired, but now, all he wanted was to get as far away from here as possible.

Looking up at the velvety black sky, Remus remembered his past, when he would lie outside and watch the stars winking at him, thinking if people would one day see him as who he was.

_Water and mud. Diamond and stone..._

"No," Remus said out loud, then turned to look at the dog. "I can't stay here. I have to go."

The dog stopped wagging its tail abruptly, but Remus didn't pay any attention to it. "I have to go," he said, more firmly. He gave the dog a pat on the head and smiled softly. "Thanks for your help." A pause. "You have eyes just like him - makes me want to hug you." So Remus dropped to his knees and gathered the dog into his arms.

The creature gave a startled whimper, but before it could do anything else, Remus had let go and was running to the gate.

Shocked, the dog could only stare after the boy with golden hair as he vanished into night.

-

"James!" Sirius shouted, slamming the door to his friend's bedroom open.

"Sirius!" James yelped, jumping off his bed and throwing his book into the air. "Don't scare me like that!"

"Shut up and come with me," Sirius growled, throwing James' clothes at him.

"What's going on?" James said, shrugging on shirt. "You look horrible."

"Remus is running away," Sirius told him. "He was in the maze -"

"He was _what_?"

"- and heard my father and yours talking. I don't know what they said, but he looked upset, and when we got out, he said he couldn't stay here and then - er, ran away."

"Is he okay?" James asked as they made their way to the gate. "I mean, that maze is full of creatures and enchanted objects."

"He's fine," Sirius said. "He probably used his magic, but what I'm worried about is getting to him. If he gets too far, then there's a possibility that we may never find him again."

"Shouldn't we call some guards? I mean, it's not exactly safe out there right now, and if anyone recognizes you..."

"James, it's after dusk, no one's going to be lurking around hoping I'll come out now. It's not like they make a profession out of murdering conceited princes, you know?" Somehow, James doubted that very much.

Looking at Sirius now, with his hair blowing wildly against his face, staring determinedly into the darkness, James wondered what Sirius truly felt about Remus. Having known him all his life, James had never once seen Sirius acting so unlike himself. James saw him stare off into space more times than he could count, stammer as he spoke to Remus, and even blush like a little boy, and even as a little boy, Sirius rarely blushed.

James recalled their last conversation, as they sat under the shades of the cherry tree and listened to the wind rustling calmly in their ears, and smiled. He had gently turned the subject from dueling to Remus, watching as many odd emotions flickering across Sirius' face when he asked, "Do you love him?"

Sirius had looked away from him and did not answer until very later.

_"If I love him, then he will die_."

"James! Look!"

James jerked out of his thought to see Sirius pointing at the guards on each side of the gate.

They were snoring very loudly, hugging their weapons close.

Cautiously James came closer and poked one of the men. He did not move.

"They've being drugged," Sirius stated when James turned to look at him.

"Do you think it's Remus?"

Sirius shook his head. "I don't think so. This is not his field of magic. It must be some kind of Sleeping Potion."

"Or Sleeping Charm," James said. They looked at each other significantly.

"You don't say..."

"It's possible."

Sirius looked doubtful for a short moment, then gave a frustrated sigh. "It doesn't matter. I don't care what she does, just as long as she doesn't get in my way. Come on, James, let's go find Remus." Then he strode past the guards and out of the already opened gate.

"You know, that Lily girl is pretty helpful, casting a Sleeping Charm on them. This way we won't be missed until morning," James said, giving the snoring men each a kick before moving on.

He had always wanted to do that.

-

_A few minutes ago..._

Severus was dully bored, so he decided that a walk would do some good.

It was supposed to be a quiet walk, giving him some peace in his own thoughts about the events in the past few days, except that he was seen by the ever nosy rat, Peter.

"Severus! What are you doing here?" Peter asked eagerly, running toward him.

Severus mentally cursed his bad luck, then turned around and said, very pleasantly, "I was taking a walk, and what are you doing here?"

"I saw you from inside, so I thought that you might want company." He looked at Severus hopefully.

_Damn him_, Severus thought. "Of course."

So they walked in silence, with Peter squealing once in a while at something he saw. Severus was getting quite fed up with it when Peter exclaimed, "The Bloody Baron!"

Severus looked up ahead, and saw a figure with red hair running toward the entrance of the palace, with another person behind her.

Quickly Severus grabbed Peter and moved out of sight. "You idiot, the Bloody Baron is a ghost! That's a solid figure."

Peter laughed weakly. "Oh."

Cautiously they looked at the shadows moving swiftly away from them, and with a jolt Severus recognized her as the girl he saw this morning. The bright, long red hair was not something so easy to miss, or forget.

Severus saw her did something similar to what she did this afternoon, whispering to some papers, and then pleasantly began talking to the two guards, who took the sheets, and, to Severus and Peter's surprise, fell to the ground.

"She killed them!" Peter said hoarsely, panicking.

"Hush," Severus hissed, watching as the girl and her companion opened the gate with much effort, and disappeared out of sight.

"Severus, what do we do? She killed them! We have to tell someone!" Severus ignored him. Instead, he approached the supposedly dead men with caution.

As it turned out, they weren't dead, just sleeping very contentedly. "Peter, come here."

The boy did come, but with reluctance.

"They're not dead," Severus said exasperatedly. "They're sleeping, see?" He pointed at the guards who were drooling like little babies. Looking at them, Severus really wished they _were_ dead.

"Who were they, Severus, the ones who sneaked away?"

Severus didn't answer him right away. He was thinking about the girl. In the short moment in which he observed her reaction when she saw Sirius and James, she had seen something in her eyes, a sort of horrified recognition, and then she had splattered her face with dirt. For what?

_To fool the prince and his friend_ was the conclusion Severus came up with. Therefore, she must have done something bad, something that could put her in danger, but no... he'd seen the proud look she gave them, and the way she spoke, clearly and unafraid.

He'd also seen the suspicious look the prince gave her, as if he vaguely recalled seeing her somewhere but couldn't quite remember. It was almost as if she was trying to _avoid_ the prince.

For the first time since he'd been here, Severus smiled genuinely. He had always loved riddles and puzzles of any kinds, and this was just like a riddle - the signs were there, and now he only needed the last missing clue to understand what was going on between her and Sirius. Perhaps, if he was lucky, he would uncover a clandestine affair between a servant and the prince, who had left her for many other women and now she was back to get her revenge.

_These kinds of thoughts_, Severus thought sourly, _come from many nights of reading useless romance stories instead of learning all I need to know to become an ambassador. If only father had allowed me to his secret library so I could read about the making of potions! Why is he so set on me following his footstep?_

"Peter, I'm going after her," Severus said. It was better than staying here doing nothing but overlooking a bunch of useless gossipers. And anyway, he was feeling rebellious. He imagined his father's face, infuriated when he found out his son left while on his first trip as an emissary for Slytherin, leaving no trace as to where he went. Feeling more determined than ever, he told Peter, "You can stay here and help me look over the others."

"Wait!" Peter said in his annoying voice and clung onto Severus. "I'm going with you! No one's going to listen to me, and I can't handle them all. If you're going, then I'm going."

Severus looked at him, deeply irritated. "Very well, you can come with me, but I don't know when I will be returning, alright?"

Peter looked worried, but nodded firmly. "Okay, but can we get some money first? I don't fancy going out there without a Knut in me."

Severus admitted that he had a point. "Why don't you go and pack us a bag, and then come back here?" he suggested, and Peter was only too willing to comply.

When the boy was gone, Severus smiled to himself. If he had his way, he would travel the country for at least a month (preferably following that girl, since he had no idea of the ways in Gryffindor), enrage his father, then come back to Slytherin and please the man by agreeing to be the next ambassador, forever locked away in politics and boredom.

Severus' thoughts were diverted when another figure came running out of the gate, never once noticing him or the sleeping guards.

It took sometime for realization to dawn on him. _That's... not the boy with golden hair they were all talking about, was it_?

The only thing he could think of after that was whatever happened, this was going to be interesting.

-

**To be continued...**


	7. The Order of Phoenix

**Title**: Oblivious Misery  
**Author**: M.R.H.I.  
**Author's Email**: Romance/**_SLASH_**/**AU  
Sub-Category**: Angst  
**Keywords**: Sirius Remus war royalty lies**  
Pairing**: Sirius/Remus, James/Lily  
**Rating**: PG-13  
**Warning**: Violence, deaths, though not the main characters', and implied incest  
**Chapter's** **Summary**: The adventure begins... with all our adventurers being chased by guards and falling off a cliff while getting separated on the way down. If they think things can't get worse, then they've got to think again.  
**Disclaimer**: Anything you recognize from the HP books are not mine. They all belong to J.K. Rowling.  
**Author's Note**: Tom Riddle is quite young in this story, as he is a valuable character and I like him lots. If you have any questions, or if you ponder on something of ambiguity while reading, it's probably intentional, but do point out anything that seems to be amiss.

Many thanks to **Miss Papaya** (Princess of Spades) for being an incredibly wonderful and good humored beta ;) Without her, this chapter would never have been released due to severe grammatical symptoms and the story would probably have gone into hiatus, so dear readers, you only have her to thank :D

* * *

Chapter 7 - The Order of Phoenix

Bellatrix had never been a woman of much patience, so when Regulus went back to his room early after dinner she was deeply annoyed. Truth be told, she didn't want to spend another lonely night by herself, and that seemed to be the case ever since that blasted blond boy came to Gryffindor. Thinking of Remus brought a mad rage to her mind. Before he appeared, Sirius had always been agreeable with whatever she wanted to do with him, but now... now all he did was reject her, and Bellatrix absolutely hated being rejected.

It wasn't that she was in love with Sirius. Bellatrix shuddered at the idea. Not only would Narcissa murder her, but falling in love with Sirius was in catastrophe itself. He was like the seasons, always changing, passionate and intense, aloof and uncaring, and sometimes he was like a loose hound ─ thirsting for violence. In absolute certainty, no man or woman in this world would be able to live with Sirius for long. He was too fickle, in everything he did and everything he felt.

Bellatrix sighed, leaning against the railing that separated her and the river below. She wondered if it was true that Sirius had fallen in love, and with a slave, no less. It just seemed so unreal. However, if Sirius was in love, then that person would surely die. Bellatrix smirked. It would serve that blond boy right for making Sirius ignore her for so long.

Shivering slightly under the chilly wind, Bellatrix cursed herself for forgetting to bring a cloak. At this time at night, it could get very cold, especially near the river. Feeling irritated, she made to return to her room, when she felt warm breaths blowing across her cheek.

"It's quite cold, isn't it?" It was a man's voice, strong and seductive, whispering into her ear. Bellatrix felt a chill run down her spine, and with anticipation she turned around.

If there was one word she would use to describe him with, it was dark. He was strangely handsome, like a fallen angel that held the world in his hand. His hair was as black as the night sky, contrasting against his pale, almost glowing skin. He was looking at her with amused, violet eyes that spoke words that she didn't know were possible, and she understood them all.

"It _is _cold," she agreed, noticing the Slytherin badge on his shirt and smiled silently to herself. "I was just about to return to my chamber." There was an inviting note in her tone, one which the man didn't miss.

"Perhaps you would allow me the pleasure of accompanying you?" he asked, smiling sensually. Bellatrix was thrilled.

"Of course," she replied, circling her arms around his and together they went to her bedroom.

* * *

The first rays of sunshine slipped through the thick cloak of darkness, gently reminding Remus that dawn was beckoning. 

Remus squinted his eyes and rubbed his forehead tiredly. He had been walking all night long, thinking about all the things that had happened in the short time he'd stayed in the palace. It brought a painful smile to his face when he remembered. All along, he had been a nuisance to Sirius, unknowingly causing him to defy his father. Not only that, Narcissa, the woman who was so kind to him, and the queen, too, wanted him dead, and he was alive for this long only because Sirius went through all the troubles keeping him safe. It was reason enough for him to run away.

Anyway, it wasn't like he meant anything to Sirius, who was just helping him like he'd once helped Molly. It was just an act of kindness.

And the prince was engaged.

It didn't make sense for him to feel so hurt knowing that, but it did and it angered Remus because he didn't know why.

Remus closed his eyes and forced himself to stop before he went too far into that train of thought.

"Look out!"

Remus turned around upon hearing the warning, but before he could make out what was going on, something fell on top of him, and that something was really heavy.

"Princess - I mean, Liana!" A voice called, getting nearer and nearer to them.

Remus breathed heavily, trying to catch his breath. "Ow..." He winced, opening his eyes.

There was a girl lying on top of him, and she seemed to be a bit dazed to move any time soon. "Er, excuse me..." Remus said awkwardly and not without difficulty. "Could you get off me, please?"

The girl looked up at Remus as if she was seeing him for the very first time, and, blushing furiously, she pushed herself away from Remus. "Pardon me!"

"Liana!" Another person was coming toward them, her eyes worried as she examined Lily over. "Are you alright? Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine, really," Liana said, embarrassed at Alice's fussing. Then, as if remembering something, she asked her, "Alice, did you lose them?"

"I don't know," Alice said, rather worriedly as she glanced behind her. "I believe so, I mean, we left the inn before they saw us, right? I'm pretty sure -"

Just then they heard approaching noises, and Remus, very confused at this point, was horrified to see that there were men running after them.

Remus was grabbed by Lily and the three of them ducked behind the large bush of dry leaves, just as the men in the guard uniforms came closer. Then, still very clueless as to why there were people chasing them, Remus felt himself being pulled from behind with a hand over his mouth. Bewildered and unprepared, Remus was taken away before the two strangers knew what had happened.

Lily and Alice, caught by surprise at Remus' sudden disappearance, uttered a sound, which did not go unnoticed by the guards.

"Someone's here!"

Lily said something very inappropriate for a princess to say, but Alice did not have time to scold her, because they were soon running away from the advancing men.

And they would have kept on running too, had they not collided with two other figures jumping out into the road in front of them.

The said people were Severus and Peter.

"It's _you_!" Severus and Lily exclaimed, glaring at each other. However, their dislike would have to be postponed, as the guards were catching up on them.

"How did they figure out so soon that we were not in the palace?" Peter huffed, his breaths coming out in short gasps. Severus did not answer him. He had a feeling that these people were perhaps, not looking for him, and someone else.

The girl - Liana, if that was her real name - had something to do with this, Severus was sure. However he looked at it, she didn't seem to be a servant from Ravenclaw. She radiated in this royal glow that distinguished her from the lower class, and her attitude was another thing to take note of, also.

"They're really close to us!" Lily panted, daring to glance back. "We have to lose them somehow!"

Severus imagined that it was going to be rather difficult to do so. It looked like they were outside the capital of Gryffindor, just bordering the countryside. There were very little trees around them, just scattered bushes of dry leaves and rough soil beneath their feet.

_Great, it's just like what they say: jumping out of a hot pan into a pot of boiling water, and it's only the first day_.

* * *

Meanwhile, Remus was having a heart attack of his life. After being kidnapped unsuspectingly, he regained enough of his sense to begin thrashing around and attempting to scream for help. 

But he stopped, though, when he heard a familiar voice near his ears.

"Remus! It's us!"

James' face appeared before his eyes, and for a moment Remus felt incredibly happy to see him.

"Thank the Mother of Hogwarts we found you, Remus," James said, smiling softly. "Imagine if someone else got you first."

Remus suddenly recalled the reason why he was running away in the first place, and with an unbelievable strength jerked away from the arms that were wrapped firmly around him.

Well, he would have, except that those arms held on, and Remus soon realized they belonged to Sirius.

A rush of ambivalent emotions took hold of him and in a moment of bewilderment Remus stayed still.

"Why did you run away?" It wasn't James who asked, but Sirius, and strangely enough, Remus felt guilty for doing so, running away, that was.

"I..." Remus muttered, aware of Sirius' arms around him and the heat that was spreading through his body.

"Curses!" James hissed, pulling them both up. "Someone's coming."

It wasn't just someone, but many people, and they were heading toward the three boys, fast.

"They sent out a search party! Let's go," Sirius said, grabbing Remus' hand and began running with James not far behind.

Remus glanced at Sirius, wondering why he wasn't trying to pull away. All he could think of was that Sirius had come after him, and it must have caused a great deal of trouble back in the palace.

Because, apparently, the guards were after them, calling Sirius back.

* * *

Alice grabbed Lily by the arm, nearly missing her. They were on top of a cliff, which was so far down that they could hardly see anything. After rushing past the trees, they arrived at this cliff, just bordering the forest, which explained why Lily lost her footing and almost dropped into the unseen bottom of the cliff. 

"Liana!" Alice panted. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," Lily breathed, staring down from the edge of the cliff, her face pale from the shock. "Thanks, Alice. I thought I was going to die."

Severus and Peter looked at Lily and her companion, then behind them, where the guards were coming at them fast. "We're at a dead end, there's no where to go -"

Right at that moment three blurred figures rushed out from the thick trees and charged right into Severus.

Everything happened after that was a hazy fog of confusion. All Severus knew was that he caught a flash of blond hair before he grabbed a hold of Peter, pulling the boy along with him down the cliff. When he bent backwards and slipped, Severus was sure that he wasn't going to make it down alive.

Alice didn't have enough time to realize what'd happened before she was flung backwards, her feet sliding off the ground. Reflexively she threw both her arms out and grabbed onto two hands.

One of them happened to be Lily's.

* * *

The first thing Remus felt when he burst through the trees was a firm body. As quick as it had appeared the body was gone, replaced by a small, plum hand that snatched his wrist. He heard someone called "Remus!", then "Sirius!" and, like a mistake turned into a disaster, Remus felt himself falling down the cliff, with Sirius' arms wrapped protectively around him.

* * *

When Remus woke up, he couldn't believe he was alive. A vague memory came back to him, and he remembered the timeless fall that he'd experienced. It was exhilaratingly frightening. He shivered, recalling the way Sirius had held him so tightly and carefully. It had made him feel so warm and... protected... 

A groan somewhere near him sounded, and as if he was unraveling an horror Remus took in the sight next to him.

Sirius was badly injured: his face was smeared with flowing red blood, long bleeding gashes were seen through his torn clothes, imprinted on his pale flesh, and Remus was sure that Sirius had sprained his right ankle and broken his left arm, and perhaps a few ribs as well.

"Oh God," Remus whispered, horrified as he shakily touched Sirius' cheek. It was terribly cold. "What have I done?"

It just seemed right that he blamed himself for Sirius' injuries, for he was the one stupid enough not to remember using magic to break their fall. He was the reason why Sirius fell down in the first place: to protect him.

_I don't need protection_, Remus thought fiercely, feeling anger rising inside his chest. _I've been alone for seventeen years and I've made it fine. I don't need you to protect me. I'm the one with protection magic, not you!_ He felt a burning sensation behind his eyes, and closed them tightly. _Why do you do this?_

"You are so stupid," Remus said, his words faltering.

"As are you."

Slowly, Remus opened his eyes, and was torn between crying and smiling. Sirius was glancing at him, too hurt to move his head. He was grimacing, but Remus was glad. At least he was alive.

"Why did you run away?" Sirius said, wincing slightly. "Devils have you, Remus. You have always caused me so much trouble, even from the beginning. If you hadn't come here, I wouldn't turn out to be like this, an utter mess --"

Sirius was getting delirious. His words became faint and his eyes were shut, but Remus listened to him, because that was all he could do. His power was useless, he couldn't heal, only protect, and yet, here was Sirius, bleeding and blaming him for all his stupidity, and again and again Remus asked himself why he didn't magick them from falling down.

And he stayed there with Sirius until nightfall, when he conjured up a fire and tried to clean Sirius up a bit. Without the blood covering his face, Sirius looked pale and weak, like a wingless bird condemned to a life of clipped mortality. It was a horrifying thought, and yet, Remus couldn't stop thinking about it.

Throughout the night Remus watched Sirius, until the last remnants of the fire burned out, leaving only a shadow of warmth in its wake.

* * *

When Lily tumbled down the cliff, she was quick to cast a Levitation Charm, and therefore saving herself and Alice from crashing down below. 

But that didn't explain how James ended up with them, unscathed and still obnoxiously irritating.

"I still _don't_ get it," Lily whined. "Why did I end up with _you_, of all people?"

James spun around, glaring at her. Since the moment they landed, this girl hadn't stopped complaining, and it was driving him insane. "Look here, you, I'm not exactly thrilled being here with you either, get it? So don't get all -- prissy with me."

Lily was indignant, and was about to say something scathing to James, when she suddenly remembered that James didn't know she was Lily Evans. It was true that she didn't put a Memory Charm on him, or Sirius, for that matter, but it'd been so long since they'd last seen each other that Lily had no worries of James recognizing her (despite her panic seeing James and Sirius in the garden yesterday). She did, after all, grow up beautiful, no longer that little skinny girl with eyes too big for her face. Lily smiled; she was getting rather full of herself.

Luckily, at that moment had decided to come back with some water, therefore preventing anymore hostile exchange of words between James and Lily.

"Here you go... Liana," Alice said kindly, handing Lily the water. "Look at you, you're all dirty."

Lily took a sip of the water and grimaced. It tasted like mud. "Ugh."

Alice smiled grimly. "I know." A thought struck her. "Why don't you use a Filtering Charm?"

Lily glanced at James, who was still looking around. They were in some sort of abandoned garden, it seemed. There were weeds and untamed grasses everywhere, growing on hard soil. Lily noticed a table made of stone on the far side of a very foul looking fountain, and next to it a swing covered in webs and mold. Darkness had swept over them some time ago, and Lily was not keen to stay here any longer than necessary.

"Hey, look! There's a cave in here," James exclaimed, catching Lily's and Alice's attention. Indeed, there was a cave, naturally hidden away by vines and a withered tree. As they came closer, they saw that it was a very dark, and presumably very deep. Lily couldn't imagine how the cave came to be, in this once beautiful garden.

"I'm going in," James said and walked right into the darkness without hesitation.

"Wait!" Lily protested, grabbing him by the shirt collar.

"Ouch!" James, momentarily strangled, yelled indignantly. Lily took away her hand abashedly. "What on earth were you trying to do? Murder me?" James snarled, rubbing his neck angrily.

Lily decided not to snap back something that might spark another argument, and instead said, "Don't you think it's rather dangerous just going in there like that? I mean, what if there are traps in there?"

For some reason, James only looked more excited at this. "If it's not dangerous, then it won't be fun, now would it?" He grinned boyishly. "Are you scared?"

That did it. In a swift motion Lily was past James, marching right into the cave. _Scared, me! I'll show him, I-_

It was then that Lily experienced her second fall within the past two days.

"Liana!" Alice yelled, hearing the princess' scream. "What have you done, you impetuous fool?" She glared at him, and went inside, albeit more carefully than Lily had.

James, indignant at the insult, wanted to say something, but he realized that that girl was possibly in trouble, and so he held his tongue and followed Alice. _Girls and their stupid _--

James fell.

* * *

The moment Sirius regained his consciousness; he felt that something was very wrong. 

The pile of ashes next to him was all that left of the warmth yesterday. Sirius shook his head as he tried to push himself up. The pain in his ribs was made note as Sirius winced and fell down on his back again.

With fatigue soaking his every bone, Sirius turned his head and took in the surrounding.

He was lying under a very tall tree. The sun was already above his head, indicating that it was around noon. Sirius squeezed his eyes shut as tears of pain leaked out behind his eyelids. _Curse it, I haven't felt this much pain since the incident with that lion_, Sirius thought, coughing a bit.

There were lots of trees, Sirius noticed, and nothing else. Nothing except silence.

_Silence..._ Sirius' eyes flashed open. _Remus!_

His heart was beating miles a minute as Sirius frantically looked around for the familiar figure. _Where could he be? Nothing must happen to him, he has to be safe_...

Sirius grabbed onto the tree's trunk and heaved himself up, but not without difficulty. In a desolated forest, where starved predators and vicious creatures roamed, it was dangerous for Remus to be out there all by himself...

"Remus," Sirius rasped, leaning against the tree and trying to get himself to walk on a hurt leg. "Remus..."

It was getting hard for him to breathe properly, Sirius vaguely noted as his foot got caught over a broken tree branch. With a choked gasp Sirius fell to his knees, clutching his chest as he coughed up blood.

"Remus..." he murmured. He felt so useless, so _worthless_. He was so frustrated at his own helplessness that he wanted to hurt himself and scream out loud, but he was in no condition to do either of that, which only made him angrier.

Why was it that the thing he truly wanted the most kept slipping away from his reach, like hot sand falling from his fingers, like tiny butterflies fluttering just above his hands, teasing him softly and sweetly, Remus had continued to elude him. Sirius had thought about Remus a lot, more than he had ever thought about anything in his life, and yet, Remus kept running away from him, unaware of his intentions. Had Remus ever stopped to consider those meaningful looks, those light touches, all the things that Sirius gave him without having being asked or even needed? It sort of hurt, sometimes, how Remus could remain so blissfully oblivious to his feelings, how he could let Sirius suffer like the way he did.

It seemed like fate was playing with him and his confused feelings, giving him a treasure to cherish and yet keeping it locked in a bottle of oblivion. How ironic was it that all his life he'd been the one to play with others' emotions, to only now be troubled by the very thing that he'd always laughed upon.

He was tired. His mind was caught in a whirlwind of all things he once never believed in. All he could see was flashes of faint reality and lingering dreams, merging like colors blending together, only to become that one indistinct dream. Emptiness filled him, but at the same time, it seemed as if all of the world was submerged inside his soul, and it was getting so hard to think properly, breathe properly, see properly...

Distantly he heard a voice, calling him. It sounded a lot like an angel's voice, lilting and soft, beckoning him from above...

Maybe he was dying. Sirius thought that perhaps he would be less cold and alone if Remus was with him. It would be perfect to die in Remus' arms...

If only he could...

* * *

When Remus returned from fetching some water, he was taken by an unpleasant surprise. 

Sirius was sitting in an awkward position, his back against a tree not far from where Remus had left him. He looked terrible, even worse than last night, with his ashen face paler than a white sheet of paper. Fear and worry rose like bile inside of him as he took in the awful sight, and, water forgotten, Remus rushed to Sirius' side and dropped down beside him without care.

"Sirius," Remus whispered, raising a shaking hand to Sirius' forehead. The feverish flesh pulsed gently beneath his palm, covered by layers of sweat. Remus felt his breath hitched, and gently he brushed the strayed strands of hair away from Sirius' face. "Wake up, Sirius, Sirius..."

The guilt and tears and all the horrible feelings that Remus had experienced in the past few days resurfaced, and once again, he was captured in the hands of self-reproach. If anything happened to Sirius, Remus could never forgive himself...

"You're crying."

The weak, quiet voice filled his ears, the words spoken in wonder. Remus thought he was going to die from happiness when Sirius cracked a dry smile and opened his eyes.

"Sirius!" Relief flooded over him as Remus choked back a sob. "Are you hurt? Are you alright? I --"

Sirius hushed him with a touch to his lips. Remus gazed at Sirius, eyes wide and shining bright with yet-to-be-shed tears. Sirius swept the dampness on Remus' face away with gentle fingers, but did not remove his hand from Remus' cheek. "Where did you go?" Sirius said quietly, his voice the barest of whisper.

"I went to get some water." Remus' voice shook as he tried to explain. "I thought you'd be thirsty when you woke up, so I..." Remus took in a deep breath to calm his overwhelming emotions, but it accomplished nothing. He couldn't stay calm when Sirius was so terribly wounded, and yet, still _worried_ about him. Remus never felt more of a burden for someone until this point, and he was so furious of himself that for a moment, he truly wished that he was back at the orphanage, and that Sirius never knew he existed.

"I thought..." Sirius broke off, and shook his head. "I'm glad you're safe." He then closed his eyes, and let his hand fall from the warmth of Remus' cheek.

It was as if the earth was falling apart, like broken mirrors and bleeding hearts, Remus pulled Sirius into his arms and cried as if his soul was torn apart.

About a mile away, a giant awoke from his slumber.

* * *

**Back at the orphanage...**

Nearly three weeks had passed since Remus had gone, and the orphanage functioned as it always had. The children were bustling about, working their hands raw and listening to Madam Jeromin complain about every little thing. It seemed as if Remus' existence had never been a part of their lives, as if all he was just a figment of their imagination, a shadow woven into the depths of their forgotten dreams.

But there were some who still remembered the wretched boy with hair like strands of sun light and whose wistful smile turned heads upon heads, only to slip away like a forlorn, auburn autumn leaf.

Since the day Remus was swept away because of his own wishful thinking, Frank had seen how people had immediately forgotten all about Remus. In fact, when he asked them if they'd seen Remus any where, the children would look at him oddly and say that there was never a Remus Lupin in this orphanage. What puzzled Frank the most was that when he checked the book with all the orphans' names listed, Remus' was not on there. It unnerved him, worried him, and sometimes, Frank began to wonder if it was actually him who was hallucinating of a boy who had never been.

_But that's ridiculous_, Frank assured himself stubbornly. He knew his instinct, and the seventeen years living with Remus couldn't be more real to him. He remembered clearly the image of a sweet creature who looked up to him with adoration and gentleness. A person who was good hearted and patient, who endured the beatings and the taunting words without so much as a whispered complaint; a person that he'd seen growing up from a naive, lonely child to a strong-willed, selfless young man. But with all those of years of being spurned like a wild, infectious dog, Remus had known the taste of bitter rejection and had learned to live without any expectations. It was a heart wrenching knowledge, seeing Remus mature like he had never been a child. It was enough for Frank to want to care about him.

But it was mostly because he simply adored Remus like the little brother he never had.

So it was natural that when Frank came upon Remus' name written on a fallen letter on the floor near Arthur's bed, he was quick to become suspicious. This suspicion did not cease, however, especially after he'd read what the letter had to offer.

_Arthur,_

_Remus is safely back home, therefore I want you to return to us as soon as possible. I've included a Portkey for you along with this letter. Please be cautious and don't forget to erase all traces of both Remus' and your existence there in the orphanage._

_I hope to see you soon,_

_Dumbledore_

Before Frank had time to decipher the true meaning this letter held, the door to the bedroom opened and in came the very man he was just looking for.

"Arthur," Frank said calmly, his hand deftly hiding the paper behind his back.

Arthur looked surprised to see him there, but regained his composure and gave a rather bleak smile. "Hey there Frank, what are you doing here?"

"Oh, nothing, just I thought I'd drop by for a little while before dinner," Frank said casually, but his mind was burning with countless questions. He had to ask Arthur about Remus. Who was Dumbledore? What was Arthur's purpose here? It seemed like this whole episode didn't seem like a simple, oh-I-got-kidnapped sort of situation to Frank.

"Really? Well, then, sit down," Arthur said, absently sweeping an arm around. "I have to clean the restrooms soon so..."

"Don't worry, I won't be here for long," Frank said, his voice unintentionally harsh. Arthur looked up. "Just long enough to ask you where Remus is."

A stricken look fleeted past Arthur's face before he attempted to grin, "What are you talking about? Who's Rem-"

Frank hurled the crumbled letter to Arthur, who reflexively caught it in the air. "Don't bother denying it, Arthur. Where's Remus? And you better explain before I lose my temper."

Arthur, having no excuses good enough, gave a defeated, wry smile before raising his hands in a gesture of peace. "Alright, alright, Frank, chill for sec. I'll tell you." And in a swift movement he was in front of Frank, his fist flying toward the other man and crashing squarely into his face.

* * *

**Back in Gryffindor**... 

The fall, as it turned out, wasn't very long or painful as it was with the last one, and for that, James was grateful.

Dusting himself off from the haystack he'd fallen upon, James looked around, noticing Lily and Alice at once. "Hey, hey!" James called, catching their attention. "Are you alright?"

Lily glowered at him. It was all his fault, provoking her and causing her to drop into Merlin knew where. "Didn't think you cared, _Lord James_."

"Liana!" Alice scolded gently. "Yes, we're fine, just a bit lightheaded." Alice looked at James in a way that was suspiciously akin to sympathy, but he dismissed it as a silly thought. Why would she sympathizewith him, anyway?

"Where are we?" James wondered aloud, realizing with surprise that the place they were in was like an underground tunnel. The stone walls reeked of the scent of humid air and...

_Corpses_?

Just as James was thinking so, he heard a terrified shriek coming from the direction of the girls.

Hastily he ran toward them, vaguely noticing that he was passing through a narrow opening, and then he was in a room.

Lily and Alice were huddled against each other, their eyes closed as if in fear, and all around them, were scattered bodies of dry skeletons and various weapons used for the purpose of torture. Some of these corpses seemed to have dried up long ago, yet some, he noted, were still rotting, fleshless with tears in their yellow, rusty skin where the rats resided. James cringed and covered his nose. It smelled awful in here.

Slowly he weaved his way through the room, feeling slightly sick as he tried not to step onto the mount of whatever left of these people. He wondered briefly as to how these dead bodies came about, and was reluctant to carry on with that train of thought.

There was a wooden table placed in the very corner of the room, old with age and very broken down. James made his way toward it, observing that there were a ring of keys and some moldy bread left on the table. Curious, James picked up the dangling keys, examining them. Just like everything else in this room, they looked as if they were made centuries ago and hadn't been used in years.

And then something caught his eyes, a flicker of light just out of his vision, and James bent down to his knees, digging his hand into the hays on the ground. When his fingers came in contact with something hard, James gently curled it into his palm and pulled a metallic object out.

The silvery crest glinted bright white in the dim light, and James turned it around, feeling the smooth, cold texture. There was an engraving of a crescent moon above a stilled lake. Lightly, an imprint of the head of a wolf was seen, taking up a large part of the crest and fading away as it drew near the moon. Beneath this eerie scene etched the words: _Dans le claire de lune, ils sont maudis_; _éternellement et toujours, ils habillent avec les péchés qu'ils ne ont jamais commis._

Something familiar flashed in his mind, but he couldn't quite make out as to what it was, and let it slide.

"Hm, that looks familiar," Lily said thoughtfully, leaning over James' shoulder. It was then that James remembered he wasn't the only person in the room.

In a swift motion he was on his feet, subconsciously dropping the mental object into his pants' pocket. "Finished wailing, haven't you?" James said coldly, a sneer on his face.

Lily glowered at him, but ignored his comment. _Ohh, how I despise him. How could I have gotten stuck with this bigot, of all thing? _Lily remembered the boy with light colored hair and a soft expression. _Now _he's _someone I wouldn't mind getting stuck with. He seemed so sweet_. She wondered if they would ever cross path again. When she looked at him, she felt something strange... a sweet, happy feeling? Or was it something different? Whatever it was, it was definitely nothing she'd ever experienced before, and, loath as she was to admit it, she wanted to see him again.

"Liana, I think we should figure a way out of here," Alice suggested, sounding rather odd. Lily fixed her green eyes on her best friend. Alice's face was ashen, as if she had seen something terrible.

"What's wrong?" Lily asked, immediately worried.

Alice remained silent, only raising a finger to a point behind Lily. James was equally as curious as the redhead, and as they turned around James noticed immediately what that had caused Alice to look as if she'd seen the Bloody Baron.

James hadn't noticed earlier, but beneath the mount of dead bodies was a dead, brown toad, completely smashed into crushed organs and bony dust. Not too far away were pieces of a chicken egg, with gooey liquid trailing from it to a large, hole in the ground. That wasn't the only one, though, there were large cracks in the ground and walls James didn't even need to think twice before he grabbed Alice's and Lily's hand and ran out of the room.

"What -- hey!" Lily protested, trying to snatch her hand away, but James held on fast. "What are you doing? Let me go!"

Alice seemed to have return from her stupor, because she was running along with James now. "Liana," she said breathlessly, "That thing - we're in a basilisk's nest!"

Lily looked confused. "What's a basil -- wah!"

There was no time to talk, however, because they all were aware of a distant rumbling coming closer and closer with every second passed. It was now that James spoke, "Whatever you do, _don't look into its eyes_."

"Whose - hey!" Lily was thoroughly annoyed now. She still didn't understand why she was running in the first place, and why both Alice and James looked so flustered.

"We need to find a way out of this place," James said, his words coming out in a rush. _Alright, basilisks like dark places, and tunnels - no wonder there are so many of them - so we must be underground. We need light, lots of it, and we need to get out of these tunnels! Oh, how I wish I could do magic!_ It was so frustrating, how he couldn't even do a simple spell. He knew it was absurd, since magic was rare, and even rarer were those who could use it. But it didn't stop him from becoming very angry when he was in a tight spot and there was nothing he could do!

James shook his head, silently berating himself for letting his emotions overcome his senses. This was no time to dwell on something that wasn't and would never be. It was the time to get out of this place... _if_ they could get out of here.

And then James was pulled backward, so that he nearly toppled over Alice. "What on earth -" he growled, turning around to see Lily standing there, arms across her chest in a very defiant way. "You again! Do you have a death wish or something? We don't have time --"

"Yes, we do!" Lily said insistently, completely clueless as to what sort of situation they were in. "And I'm not moving from this spot if you don't tell me what's going on!"

James couldn't imagine a time he wanted to strangle someone more. Take a deep breath, he forced himself to relax. No use getting mad now. "This place, apparently, is the home to basilisks. They are dangerous creatures that can kill you with just a look - literally," James explained, glowering at her. "Understand now? Can we get back to running, because as much as I would love to stay here and indulge your audacious attitude, we're sort of running out of time, and I really don't fancy getting killed here." He gave Lily a disgusted look. "You're just a spoiled brat, aren't you?" And without another word, walked away. The _extent of my kindness goes as far, _James thought with much finality, _if she wants to be stupid, then stay there and rot._

Although Alice would always take Lily's side, she couldn't deny that James was right this time. They had been in here for far too long, and the basilisks must have gotten wind of them. They didn't have much time, and must get a move on. "Come on, Lily, let's go."

Lily was feeling a bit dumbfounded, so that she didn't even notice when Alice took her hand and pulled her after James.

"J-James, wait up!" Alice huffed, catching up to him.

James gave a small smile, and turned around. "Finally come around, haven't yo -- look out!" James shouted, hurling himself toward the two girls. James managed to roll them both out of the way before a sounding crash was heard, right where they had just been a moment ago.

This seemed to shake Lily out of her daze. "What was _that_?" she almost yelled, twisting her head around to get a good look, but James pulled her head down.

"Are you stupid? Haven't you heard a word I said? _Don't look into its eyes_!" James hissed, feeling his blood boil. _What is wrong with this girl?_

Lily was about to retort, when she felt the back of her neck prickle. Feeling a strong sense of foreboding, she grabbed both James' and Alice's hand and forced them to run. Out of the corner of her eyes, Lily caught sight of something large, smooth, and long, before the wall on her right gave a loud crash and fell apart. Instinctively Lily pulled out a sheet of paper and willed her magic into it, "_Wingardium Leviosa_!" Then she threw it up the air toward the falling rocks.

James, on the other hand, was waiting for the impact, when nothing happened. Gathering his nerves, he snuck a peek --

And all the feeling from his legs vanished.

Right above them, hanging suspended in the air, were broken pieces of stone from the wall, inches away from their heads. James, needless to say, was speechless. "What - how - this - you..."

Lily, even in this situation, couldn't help but feel incredibly good about herself. "You were saying something about me?" she sneered.

That snapped James' out of his shock. "Why are you -- ?" he began angrily.

"Is this really the time to argue!" Alice jumped in, sounding exasperated. "We're being chased by a basilisk, and all you two could do is bicker about the most useless things!"

James and Lily stared at Alice. "Alice, I'm so sorry..." Lily said hesitantly, her expression apologetic.

"Er, yeah," James agreed, feeling rather awful about his behavior.

"That's alright," Alice smiled. "As long as you two stop --"

But she was cut off, as another explosion was heard, and this time, there wasn't just one basilisk that was attacking, but a whole family of them.

James, Lily, and Alice backed away slowly, still taking care not to raise their eyes too far up. They were, indeed, in big trouble.

* * *

There were times, when Remus wondered why he always caught himself in impossible situations. 

Naturally, this was one of those times.

Standing not too far away was a man of monstrous nature. He was at least eightfeet high, and larger than anything Remus had ever seen. His face was almost entirely covered in bushy hair and beard, and, worse of all, he was carrying an ax.

It really didn't take Remus long to understand that, first of all, this man was a giant, and secondly, that perhaps the said giant wouldn't be so disinclined to kill them.

It would be an understatement to say that Remus was terrified.

"Yeh!" he boomed, startling Remus. "What're yeh doin' here?"

Remus opened his mouth to reply, but it seemed that his voice had deserted him, and along with that, his ability to think altogether.

The giant narrowed his eyes and observed Remus. The boy was covered in dirt, and... blood?

"Hey, yer alright?" he asked, crouching down to get a better look at him. It was then he noticed the boy's companion, who, it seemed, was in a much worse state. "What happened ter him?"

Remus looked at the man, uncertainty within his eyes. Though he looked alarmingly enormous, the giant looked as if he cared. "Wh - who are you?" Remus said softly, daring to look into his eyes.

"Oh! How rude of me! I'm Hagrid! Rubeus Hagrid!" he said cheerfully. "I live near here, takin' care of an old man, yer know? It's good ter have someone new one in a while ter talk ter, ye know?" Then his expression became serious as he examined Sirius, lying unresponsive in Remus' arms. "'E looks a bit peaky. What happened?"

Remus was reluctant to reply, seeing how the giants he'd heard of were always spoken of as brutal creatures, but this man... he seemed friendly. _Forget it_, Remus decided, _Sirius needs help, and anything this Hagrid is going to do can't make it worse_. "My friend fell off a cliff and is badly injured. Please, if you could do anything..."

He broke off, unable to go on. The weight of Sirius in his arms felt heavy, a constant reminder of what he had done. Hagrid could see how upset this young man was, so he didn't ask any further. "Come with me. I'll treat ter his wounds," he said simply, and made to take Sirius from Remus, when the boy reacted violently.

Remus tightened his arms around Sirius and jerked away from Hagrid, staring at him with a sort of fierce, protective look in his eyes. "What are you --?"

"I'm jus' gonna carry 'im back to m'house, a'right? Ain't gonna do anythin' ter 'im, promise," Hagrid said solemnly, not sure if Remus was going to trust him. Not many, if any, trusted him. He was a giant, after all.

Remus was very unwilling to let go of Sirius, and for a long time stayed still, determination firmly fixed on his face. Hagrid tried again. "My house is far 'way, and 'e doesn't seem ter be able ter take it any longer..."

Those words spurred Remus into action. He looked up at Hagrid, who was taken aback at the helplessness in his hopeful expression. "You're not going to... hurt him?" he asked childishly.

"No!" Hagrid said, appalled. "I would never!" Conflicting emotions flashed across the boy's face, and finally, he let go of Sirius. Hagrid gave him a smile and hoisted Sirius up his shoulder. "Walk beside me. My house is a bit far, so we need ter hurry."

Thus, together, they trotted off toward Hagrid's house, and once in a short while, Remus would glance up at the prince as if afraid he was going to disappear.

Within the dark trees, watchful eyes followed their movements as they made their way out of the forest.

* * *

The urgent meeting called forth for all of the lords currently present in the imperial palace to the Chamber of Conspiracy just four days before Sirius' birthday, on the morning of Sirius' disappearance. 

When the last of the lords entered the room, the only exit in this eerie chamber automatically sealed itself shut. A heavy silence draped over them, giving the already ghastly atmosphere an even greater sense of foreboding. This chamber was designed like a cage, with only one entrance that was secured by heavily armed guards. There was no window, only a fire burning in the middle of the long table, lighting up the whole place in its cold brilliance. The king sat at the very end, overlooking his troubled subjects and wondered if, when situation called for, could they protect and fight for their country. Looking at these old goons he doubted very much.

"Today," he began, feeling their eyes on him, "we gather here to discuss a new development that has, unexpectedly, arisen." He paused, and then gave them the news, "Persephone's identity was discovered." Audible gasps were heard all over the room as the king allowed time for this to sink in, then continued, "She was sentenced to death today at dawn, guilty of treason."

Soon, the people in the room began to talk in hushed whispers among themselves, asking as to what they were going to do. Surely, Slytherin must have figured out that Persephone was a Gryffindor spy, and now, doubtlessly, Lucius was planning something against Gryffindor for breaking their mutual agreement of peace.

The king cleared his throat, calling their attention back to him. "Her loss, fortunately, was not in vain, for we have gained very valuable information just moments before she was captured."

The golden fire flickered in his dark eyes as he rested his chin upon his folded hands. "It seems that Slytherin is secretly making allies with neighboring kingdoms, and is now amassing an incredible army led by Dark Creatures. Needless to say, their target is us."

"But, Your Majesty," the prime minister said tentatively, "is this truly possible? I know we aren't the best of friends, but would Slytherin risk so much in a clearly pointless expedition? We are, after all, distinguished as the most powerful kingdom since the beginning of time, and all have always acknowledged our decisions as wisest."

The king turned his eyes to him. The minister was a foolish man, no question about it, but he had his uses, and had not been quite ineffective just yet. But a fool would always remain a fool, especially with such young arrogance.

"We must not take any chances, you of all people should know that well, Lord Fudge," he answered slowly. "Slytherin is an ambitious kingdom, and Lucius, as its ruler, even more. It does not bode well to underestimate them. After all, they are one of the main kingdoms, and their military isn't one to overlook." The king's voice carried a sort of finality in it, ending their two man discussion there.

Fudge edged back into his seat, feeling slighted, and remained silent. It was then that the king turned to his advisor, and nodded.

Mr. Potter stepped into the light, in his hand he held a rather weighty scroll. "Along with Dumbledore, His Majesty and I have already formulated a defensive strategy. This is only a temporary plan, so we would be prepared if worse comes to worse. However..." Mr. Potter lay out the scroll, which rolled across the table to the very end. It showed a map and a very lengthy explanation. "We all know that the four main kingdoms are connected through the Forbidden Forest, and that Slytherin remains the farthest away from us, to the south." A bright glow shimmered on the land that was labeled Slytherin. "Geographically, it is too risky, or rather, impossible to go through the forest and attack Gryffindor, and Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff would be alerted if Slytherin dared to make their way around from the east or west. This leaves us with the options that they would either go underground or on air." The map amplified, focusing on the gap between the northwestern Slytherin and the edge around the Forbidden Forest. "The Sneaky Mountain have... interesting surprises. Since it's entirely Slytherin's property, we never really will have a chance to explore, and as such cannot expect that they won't be using it to their full advantages."

Mr. Potter drew himself up, and cleared his throat. "With so many possibilities and so little time, this is what we're going to do..."

* * *

It was, truly, strenuous work not looking into their eyes while trying to fight them off, Lily decided as she ducked a blow at her head and tried to keep up with James and Alice. 

"Lily! Do something!" Alice screamed, terrified. She had her eyes closed, which was either a very smart or stupid move. Lily didn't have time to ponder that, as she was already chanting the Tickling Charm at the attacking creatures.

This caused nasty results, as the basilisks began thrashing and shrieking horribly and Lily found that, in an enclosed space like this, it was hard to duck both the collapsing cave and the blasted reptiles.

"Will you stop that! They're going insane!" James yelled at her, pulling Alice away from an attacking basilisk and ducking the falling rocks on the way. He'd counted. There were five of them in all, each ranging from large to humongous.

At this Lily exploded. Why must he pick on her at this crucial time? "Well, excuse me! I haven't exactly spent my childhood learning how to fight off these things, you know!" Something exploded loudly from behind them, one that James doubted was caused by the basilisks. Lily was glaring at him, her eyes aflame with fire. She looked a tad frightening.

"Try something more effective, will you! Like an... make a fire!" James shouted suddenly. "Make a big fire!"

Lily, seeing two fast approaching basilisks, recklessly plunged forward and slid through the gap between them, thanking all gods listening that she had a mind to close her eyes. Wasting no time, Lily immediately conjured forth a whip of white flames. Its brilliant light sent the reptile family screeching in pain as they gathered themselves into a large group. Lily was sure this wasn't going to work, as they were slamming their tails into the walls even more viciously now, when suddenly, all of them disappeared.

For a moment no one moved, as they were too shocked about the occurrence moments ago. The ropes of flames thrashing in the air were fading away, leaving the three royals soaked in almost complete darkness.

It was then that Alice said, her voice full of disbelief, "Lily! Oh, Lily!" She quickly hastened to her princess's side, looking up and down. "Are you all right? Are you injured? Oh, Lily, if anything happened..."

"Alice, calm down," Lily soothed, "I'm fine. See? Not a single scratch." That wasn't entirely true, as there was a gash on her arm and she was bleeding quite generously.

"How could you say that!" Alice exclaimed, tears leaking from the corners of her eyes. "Is this a basilisk's bite? Did it hit you? They are poisonous, Lily..."

"No, the rocks caused it, it's fine," Lily reassured her, but Alice was panicking with worry.

"Look at you! Just a day out in the wild and there you are! How am I ever going to explain this to the queen...?"

Lily clapped her hand over Alice's mouth, looking over to James worriedly.

The young man was staring at Lily, something between disbelief and awe on his face. When he noticed that Lily was looking at him, he shook his head and gave her a hard look. "You -- what are you... how did you...?" And then something registered in his mind. James narrowed his eyes. "Alice, did you just call her Lily?"

Alice shook her head, eyes filled with guilt. "Numm...?" she tried to say with Lily's hand over her mouth. Lily hastily pulled her hand back.

"Lily... you can't possibly mean Lily _Evans_?" James said incredulously, jumping onto his feet. Of course! How could he have been so stupid? Her vivid green eyes, long auburn hair, and the way she carried herself... he should've known! She was the exact duplicate of the queen of Ravenclaw! "You!" he gasped.

Lily clambered to her feet and looked back at him defiantly. "Me," she retorted. "You're quite eloquent, Lord James."

James gave her such an awful look at for a second she was startled. "You're supposed to be back in the Gryffindor Palace!" His eyes widened as a memory clicked in place. "You were the one that cast the Tickling Charm on me!"

A wide smile spread across Lily's face. "I do hope you liked my farewell present," she said cheerfully, apparently forgetting the fact that they were still trapped in a cave full of dangerous creatures.

"How dare you! I can have your head for such an insolent act --"

Lily glared at him. "I'll have you know that I am the princess of Ravenclaw." She paused, and then added, "and the future bride of your _prince_." The last word was said with disgust. She couldn't even bear to think about it, but the look on James's face was priceless.

"Sirius will never marry someone as... as... ungainly and..." James racked his brain for the word, but anger seemed to have blinded all his thoughts, "and _freckly _as you are!"

Lily's hand immediately went to her face. "Freckly!"

"Lily!" Alice said angrily, unable to stand this any longer. "If you two have had quite enough, we need to get moving! I hope you haven't forgotten that we are in mortal peril right now!"

James was about to retort, when his eyes caught something behind Lily. The wall... it was...

Wordlessly he walked past Lily toward it, and his brows furrowed in curiosity. With the basilisks rampaging within this part of the cave, the walls had been delved and broken down, but this part was completely undamaged. It was smooth and untouched, and as James looked at it more closely, he noticed that there was a dent in the middle of the smooth surface, as if created for something to be fitted in.

James rubbed his chin thoughtfully, thoughts rushing through his mind thousand miles a minute, and then, finally, an idea struck him. Digging his hand into the pocket of his pants, James pulled out the crest that he'd found earlier. In the dark, it still glowed with an ethereal presence, soft silver against the angry black. With great care, James gently slid the crest into the shaped dent.

It fitted perfectly, much to James' delight. For a while nothing happened, then, like everything that had been happening lately, something strange transpired in the gloomy, desperate atmosphere.

The smooth portion of the near collapsing wall slid aside, revealing a dark tunnel. James squinted his eyes, peering inside. It seemed like they were going to have to go for another ride downward.

"What's this?" Lily asked, coming up beside James.

"This," James said slowly, as if it pained him to say, "just might be our way out."

As if on cue noises began to come closer, indicating that the basilisks were coming back. James looked at Lily and gave a suffering sigh. There was stubbornness in her face as she backed away determinedly. "If you think I'm going to enter another unknown entrance with nothing to protect me, then you're mad," she said, crossing her arms as if daring James to argue with her.

He didn't, because James had a better thing to do, which was grabbing her hand and pulling her toward the hole, then, as much as he privately hated it, James gave Lily a quick kick in the back of her knees and pushed her into the dark abyss. A scream was heard echoing in the cavern, but James didn't care, as he was motioning for Alice to do the same. Alice, with more reasons in her, willingly followed Lily.

James was about to go after her, but right then a basilisk appeared, its nastily large head coming at him, fangs baring.

Heart beating madly James swiftly seized the crest and jumped inside, just in time as he heard a loud snapping sound right behind him. James sighed in relief, but then he realized that he was hurling down a tunnel that was leading him to a place of unknown.

_Oh well,_ James thought, resigned to his fate, _wherever we're heading toward, it cannot be worse than what we've just dealt with_.

* * *

The abandoned tower was once a magnificent place within the Private Quarters of a deceased queen's consort a few generations ago. Married into the Black family, he had especially requested it made for his personal use, and titled it after his surname, Grimmauld. The Grimmauld Tower, along with the Private Quarters, branched off from the palace, becoming a somewhat secluded place once heavily guarded just off the shore of the river. However, because of an unwanted accident inside the tower that was rumored to have cursed the children of the Black Dynasty, the whole tower was forsaken and anyone was forbidden to enter. Renowned wizards were asked to ward it off with the strongest spells around the tower and even the Private Quarters themselves, such that no one could enter or detect it, except for those who already knew it was there. 

As it was, this made the perfect place to confer with the members of the Order of the Phoenix.

Throughout the years, Dumbledore had added many more wards to the tower, and changed few, as to better protect the secrets of the Order and to, naturally, better protect it from prying eyes. That was why he put an especially strong charm on the whole place. The Fidelius Charm enabled him to allow certain people to come and go as they pleased, and no one else.

Which was why he was rather surprised when a flustered Deladus Diggle burst into the Conference Room as Dumbledore went over an important plan with Kingsley Shacklebolt.

"Deladus, what -" Dumbledore began, eyes slightly widened.

"Albus, you have to see this, it's -" he gasped, out of breath, gesturing wildly down into the staircase.

Dumbledore gave Kingsley a short look before sweeping out of the room. "Please, Deladus, lead the way," he said, and Deladus complied, almost skipping as he hastened down the stairs.

"You wouldn't believe... Arthur, he's back..."

"He's back?" Dumbledore asked sharply, quickening his steps.

"Yes, but that's... not all --" Deladus huffed.

They took the flight down a narrow corridor and came to a nearly overlooked room. Without breaking his stride Dumbledore walked right inside, his eyes sweeping around and finally falling upon the pair of people on the floor.

There was Arthur, older but still recognizable by his freckles and red hair, and then there was a strange boy, with brown hair and a strong face. They both were wrestling on the floor as if trying to throttle each other.

"Ahem," Dumbledore cleared his throat, amused when both of them froze at the sound. "Good evening, Arthur, I'm glad you're back." And to the complete stranger, he said, "And good evening to you, too."

"Dumbledore, sir!" Arthur said, pushing Frank away and clambering onto his feet. "It wasn't my fault! He grabbed at me while I was holding the Portkey! There was nothing I could do..."

"Settle down now, Arthur, I am not angry with you," Dumbledore said, smiling happily. "I'm pleased that you've arrived here safely, and forgive me for asking for an explanation as to this young man's presence here in Gryffindor."

Arthur shot an irritated look toward Frank, who glared back heatedly. "I know you're in this together," Frank said bluntly, looking squarely at Dumbledore. "You kidnapped Remus, didn't you! I don't know what funny stuff you did to make us forget about him, but rest assured, I _will_ -"

"I have no doubt that you will go far for Remus," Dumbledore said pleasantly, "after all, you care enough to remember about him, when all others have forgotten."

For some reason, hearing this out loud made Frank feel quite embarrassed. "Er..."

"Let's sit down, shall we? I'm sure there's much to discuss." Dumbledore gestured at the desk, and the chairs around it. "Deladus, would you like to stay here, or...?"

Deladus shook his head. "Actually, I'm meeting Elphias right about now. We're part of the search party sent to look for Sirius. I'll see you later, Albus." With that, he was out of the door and gone.

Dumbledore turned back to Arthur and Frank. Before he could speak, however, Frank had already started spouting off from the mouth. "Where's this place? Where's Remus? Is he here? How comes no one remembers him? What have you done to him?"

Arthur gave Frank a withering look as Dumbledore looked on in bewildered amusement. "Be quiet, will you?" Arthur said, annoyed. "A little patience is all it takes, really."

Frank rounded on Arthur. "Look here, I'm not exactly in a gushy mood with you, especially after what you did to me!"

Arthur smiled in grim satisfaction. "A broken nose doesn't look too bad on you, Frank. Stop you from being so nosy, perhaps."

"You --"

"Well, then," Dumbledore interrupted, "why don't you introduce yourself first, Frank, and we'll continue from there."

Frank huffed and said moodily, "My name's Frank Longbottom, son of the owner of the orphanage."

"If I'm not mistaken, then your mother's surname is Jeromin...?" Dumbledore asked.

"My mom and dad divorced, but I keep my dad's surname," Frank explained. "But that's not important. I want to know where I am, and who," he pointed to Arthur, rather rudely, "is he? Where did Remus go? I want to see him! And you, who are you?" The plain, straightforward attitude of his made Dumbledore smile.

"You mustn't worry about Remus. He's safe at the moment, I believe." Dumbledore paused, and Frank, to his very surprise, saw the teapot float up into the air and begin pouring hot tea into the cups.

"How did you - what -?" Frank said, looking from Dumbledore to the still pouring teapot, speechless.

Dumbledore looked at Frank through his spectacles, hands clasped together, and said in a very serious voice, "This is the Grimmauld Tower, a portion of the Gryffindor Palace that has been abandoned. My name is Albus Dumbledore, the wizard of the court and also Secret Keeper of the Order of Phoenix."

* * *

**To Be Continued... **

* * *

**A/N:** Phew, finally, this chapter is done! Sorry there wasn't much of Sirius/Remus in this chapter, so to make up for it, I'll give you three words that'll foreshadow the events in the next chapter: death, war, kiss_es_ ;) 

Ekk, yes, there was an unnatural delay between the updates, but at least, this chapter is long, right? Hmm, on second thought, I'm not sure if that's a good thing. Unfortunately, I don't know when the next chapter is going to come out, because due to my stupidity and carelessness, I erased a generous part of the damn chapter. So expect to wait more, and hopefully not as long as nearly a year :D

See you next time!


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